


In vino veritas

by Sweetnekocat



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alcohol, Comedy, Drunkenness, Jealous Vinsmoke Sanji, M/M, Romance, jealous Luffy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-10 05:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17419571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetnekocat/pseuds/Sweetnekocat
Summary: Luffy still remembers how Shanks used to say that alcohol always eased the sorrows of love. Wise words from a wise man, but Shanks never took into account that Luffy was stupid and couldn’t keep his mouth shut.When Luffy finally decides to put into practice that knowledge because he’s sad after seeing Sanji flirting with some women, everything turns chaotic and he has no way to stop it.How Luffy wishes he only got a headache after that night…





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! It's me again with my faves and as I said in my other fic I posted something new though I will continue to write the other one!  
> I still remember when this fic was just a long one shot and then it became a long two shot and now is this. Well, things happen I guess lol.  
> This fic has two POV and it changes between Luffy and Sanji, but it isn't difficult to know which one is speaking.  
> The fic doesn't have that many chapters so I will post one chapter per week.  
> As this fic deals with drinking alcohol all I can say is that getting drunk isn't the best way to handle problems, but for story purposes I wrote about it.   
> So, as always thanks for reading! Hope you guys enjoy it!

1.

Luffy didn’t feel too well and how could he when he saw the cook being around that many women? They had been at an island buying some things so they were supposed to be concentrated in that. Instead Sanji was all too distracted with the girls. At first that hadn’t been a problem at all, but with time that changed and he was now suffering from Sanji’s behavior with women even if he shouldn’t feel surprised or annoyed. Ever since he got that he was probably in love with him he knew that it was better to keep it a secret and forget about it as time passed. Nevertheless, for the time being he still felt that way even if he didn’t want to and tried his best to let his sentiments disappear. He thought he had been particularly good at hiding his feelings for no one from the crew seemed to know about them and he hoped it stayed that way.

He couldn’t believe the he would get that way for a man. He knew Sanji was great and everything, but he feeling that strongly for him was unexpected and even uncalled for. He would never like him back and while he was optimistic to an extreme he also knew when things weren’t going to happen. He was also sure that it was better to keep focused on searching for the One Piece, but even if he told himself that, hearing Sanji laughing and being playful with those women was driving him crazy.

When it was time to go back to the Sunny so they could continue with their journey, Luffy was still upset, but was careful enough to hide it. Sanji was still feeling great from having spent most of his time with those ladies and he couldn’t help but feel miserable. He was really going about this in the wrong way and he knew he shouldn’t waste his time expecting for something to happen between them at all. He was too much of a dreamer and was always thinking about them getting together or kissing when it was impossible. He was someone that didn’t know that word and never used it for anything, but he also knew what battles to fight and which ones to pass.

After they had dinner they all decided to hold a party since they were days away from getting to the next island. They had lots of rum, wine and beers so it would be great according to everyone. They had prepared a table in the deck with food and the drinks ready for everyone to enjoy. Of course Luffy had asked Brook to play songs while they were eating. He needed that since he wasn’t feeling like himself yet. It was so hard to see Sanji being with other people without him noticing how he felt for him. He seriously hoped no one got his sad demeanor or the reason behind it.

He hid everything with an expertise he hadn’t thought himself capable of and apparently everyone was having a great time. He tried his best to forget about Sanji, but every time he looked at him he felt a mix of sad and happy because it was amazing he was there with him, as if that was enough for him to be glad. Ah, he had it bad.

Luffy ate and drank from everything that was on the table with no restriction. For some reason the booze was incredibly good that day so instead of eating as much as he used to he imbibed everything that was close to him. Since the only one drinking something different to alcohol was Chopper no other option was available for him. He continued that way even when the rum burned his throat. He felt that with each passing minute and the more he drank he could feel his problems slipping away from his mind. In the back of his head he remembered that Shanks used to say that alcohol always calmed the sorrows of love. He hadn’t understood what that meant when he was young, but now he could get that it made a lot of sense.

Since he was usually a whirlwind when eating he guessed no one noticed that he had drunk a lot. He felt as his head was starting to feel different as if something funny was about to happen soon, but he didn’t know what or when. Luffy started to laugh out of nowhere and after that his mind was completely blank of anything the crew said to him.

***

It was interesting, if not incredibly hilarious, to see Luffy that way. It was the first time Sanji had seen him wasted like that. The captain drank alcohol in parties, but never to that extent. He had always thought he just didn’t like it that much, but apparently that night he was really into it. Maybe he had been hanging out too much with the moss head that was a bad influence to anyone. He should have to keep an eye on Chopper so the doctor wouldn’t fall to this type of behavior.

He was seated next to Luffy that was talking of him being sad about something, but he slurred so much in his speech that he couldn’t get clearly what he was unhappy about. He never could finish or explain properly what made him upset and no one could get him to answer what was wrong. That continued for some time and the whole crew was either laughing about the way he acted or the weird things he said or worried that what he was saying was actually true. He didn’t know any reason for him to be sad so he just laughed along with the rest.

Suddenly, Luffy put his jar with rum down and seemed to almost wake up. Almost because he kept talking unintelligible things, but his eyes shone in a way that made it look as if his head wasn’t as foggy as before. After that he began speaking clearer and got closer to him and put an arm around his neck and started talking to both him and the crew.

“Okay, I know I said I was sad, but have you seen Sanji? I can’t stay that way if I’m close to him,” he said with mirth in his voice and while he appreciated the feeling it was kind of odd.

He wanted to take out Luffy’s arm from his neck, but he wasn’t budging from holding him at all. Instead he proceeded with what he wished to say.

“But really. Have you seen him? When he cooks he does it so good too! What would I do without your cooking, Sanji?” He pondered and everyone was laughing except for him.

It was obvious they were having the time of their lives at his expense. Why did this type of thing always happen to him anyway? He accepted his fate and didn’t care about the captain’s closeness so he kept listening to him. From what he got he was bent on praising him for his cooking and fighting style. He even said he was the coolest of the crew and when he saw the moss head face’s he snickered for that was great to hear if he was honest.

Then he stopped and drank a beer that was close to him even when Nami had tried to take it away from him. He continued with everything and he was kind of happy witnessing the captain’s apparent admiration for him.

At some point he put a hand holding his face as if he was thinking of something beautiful and started again.

“But really, Sanji shines when he cooks. He looks so pretty too,” he said with a sigh and he didn’t know if the rosy cheeks Luffy had were caused by the alcohol or it was an actual blush.

Sanji saw how the whole crew was astonished by what Luffy had said. The ones that were drinking coughed up what they were having and some even choked. He wasn’t in better shape than that and he wanted to get away from the captain soon, but he kept a steady grip on him.

“Seriously, he looks so beautiful I think I may die at some point,” he kept saying and he leaned a little on him.

Everyone was looking at both as if this was the most impossible thing to see and it really was. What was he even saying? What did he mean by all of this?

He noticed that Luffy had closed his eyes and was pouting, but before anyone could ask him what was wrong he spoke up.

“I can’t believe I have to see you going around following ladies. Why do you do that when you have so many options, Sanji?” He asked and he was so lost.

He didn’t get where his options were and the rest seemed to not know either. Luffy was being so weird that day. Who let him have alcohol anyway? He would kick their ass after this was over. He pleaded with his eyes for someone to help him get Luffy away from him and Nami was standing up when Luffy just had to say the most mortifying thing he had ever heard.

He opened his eyes, stared directly at him and said, “Hey, Sanji, don’t keep going around women, okay? Marry me instead. Do you want to marry me? Say yes, please.”

He felt his face burn and the whole crew were completely baffled by his statement. He couldn’t be real about this, right? He looked at him trying to comprehend what had just happened and was about to ask what he was saying, but Luffy fell asleep suddenly over him, hugging him all the way.

That thankfully shut him up, but that didn’t mean that anything was alright. Sanji looked everywhere for help and they were all quiet. It seemed he wasn’t the only one completely shocked by everything, but since the guys were the worst they started laughing as if they had been performing the funniest comedy ever. He told them to shut their mouths, but they continued laughing.

Usopp, Chopper and Franky were on the floor laughing while Nami and Robin were chuckling. Zoro was laughing his guts out and Jinbei looked distressed, but was laughing anyway. Brook in the middle of his laugh stated that the reason why Luffy was so sad was probably because he had seen him flirting with some women at the past island.

None of that made any sense and he kept asking the crew to help him get Luffy off him. When they were back to their normal selves they took him off from him and Zoro and Usopp grabbed him by the shoulders as dead weight. He would wake with the worst headache ever, but he couldn’t get worried about that now. Everything he had said was too surprising and it was so strange to even hear the captain saying anything like that.

He hoped it was the alcohol that made him say all those things and that he didn’t mean them. The ones that remained with him looked at him waiting for an opinion or response from him, but he was speechless. What could he even say?

He began retiring the dishes and the glasses from the table and the crew helped him do it without looking at him anymore. He was incredibly tired from this entire thing, but he also feared going into the men’s room with Luffy there. When they were done cleaning the crew bid him farewell with strange smiles and it was obvious they wanted to keep laughing again. He couldn’t believe them sometimes.

Sanji knew he had to rest, but he preferred to be on the lookout. It was like he didn’t want to confront the man even if he was passed out from drinking that much, but who could blame him? Luffy, his captain, had practically confessed his love for him in front of the whole crew. One thought wouldn’t leave him alone though; did he mean all he said? He hoped he was just joking because he had no idea where this would lead them if it wasn’t like that.

***

Luffy woke up with the worst headache he had felt in a long time. Even when enemies or Nami hit him on the head he didn’t feel this way. He felt his stomach was kind of unsettled too and for the first time in probably his whole life he didn’t want to eat. What the hell was wrong with him anyway? He also didn’t remember anything from last night and he had no idea how he had gotten to his bed.

He stood up and noticed that the only one in the room was Zoro. He was resting on his own bed and when he noticed he was up he looked at him with a weird smile. He asked him how he felt and he answered that he felt like shit. The swordsman also asked him if he wanted to eat anything and he said that not really. He still insisted in that he should eat and he went down from his bed and led him to the dining room.

His head that was already hurting a lot almost exploded with the sun rays. He held it with his hands and hoped Chopper would give him something to soothe the pain. He went inside the dining room feeling as if he had been kicked many times. He saw that everyone looked at him when he entered the place. When they noticed him the same type of strange smile was on the whole crew. The only one that wasn’t like that was Sanji that wasn’t even looking at him in the first place.

He saluted everyone and sat down waiting for Sanji to give him something. He told him that he wanted something light because he wasn’t feeling too good of the stomach. He didn’t even spare him a glance, but nodded anyway. That was weird as well as the way everyone was staring at him like expecting for him to do something. He didn’t understand what they wanted, but for some reason he preferred not to know; his head hurt too much to learn anything new.

The looks continued the whole breakfast (or was it lunch?) and Luffy was seriously so freaked out. They talked about this and that, but they still kept staring at him intently. He wanted to ask them what was wrong with them, but something told him that it wasn’t a good idea. As before the only one that didn’t speak about anything was Sanji that was focused on eating and nothing more. Even like that he looked beautiful. He opted to escape from those thoughts and kept eating calmly.

When they were done he went out still feeling bad and so he asked Chopper for something that could ease his headache. The doctor gave him some painkillers and scolded him for drinking too much. He accepted and went to sit at the deck. He was of the idea that if he went to the Sunny’s head he might fall so he preferred to stay away from the sea.

As he was by himself he felt that his annoying headache started to dissipate. His mind that was calmer made him begin thinking about what could have happened last night that he was so lost. Luffy knew he should have been extremely preoccupied about forgetting of something, but he was in the hands of his crew so it didn’t bother him. What did worry him was that everyone was acting different. He remembered they were having a party and that he had drunk a lot more than he usually did because he was sad. At some point he started laughing, but after that nothing came to his memories.

He tried to connect the events that had transpired and what he could be missing. From everyone’s reaction he probably said or did something funny, but given his character that was to be expected. So, what could be so funny that they still laughed about it? There was also the fact that Sanji hadn’t looked too happy like the rest. Had he done something to annoy him? He hoped it wasn’t like that because while he knew they would never be together that didn’t mean he didn’t care about the cook’s opinion of him.

Some time passed and he was feeling better. He heard someone approaching him and it was Usopp and Chopper looking at him weirdly. It was like they wanted to tease him about something, but were afraid of him. He never got too annoyed by that so it was even stranger that they were acting like that. He tried to ask them what they wanted, but they only ran as if rethinking if what they were doing was a good idea.

He went after them and they entered the sick bay that was also connected to the kitchen. He was only fixed on capturing those two so he didn’t see Sanji on his way outside the place and crashed on him heavily. He fell over him and after recuperating from the hit they stood up. Sanji was looking nervous as hell and wasn’t saying anything to him. He apologized, but the man only nodded. Normally he would have kicked him already, but he went somewhere else in the deck so rapidly it seemed he was fleeing from there.

He was starting to get worried because it seemed Sanji had a problem with him, but he didn’t know what that was about at all. He wanted to talk with him so they could fix whatever was going on and he went to look for him. He found him in the men’s room and when he saw him he almost paled. What was so wrong?

Without preamble Luffy asked him if something was wrong with him, but he shook his head and was making his way outside again. He inquired if he had done something to him last night when he was drunk and Sanji had blushed a lot, but other than that he had remained silent and shook his head again. Then he went out and he followed him because it seemed he was escaping from him. Sanji got inside the kitchen and when he was entering too the door closed and he heard the latch clicking so he was sure he had secured the door so he wouldn’t enter. There were many forms of entering the place as he had learned while trying to steal meat in the years they had navigated, but he thought it was better to leave Sanji alone for now.

Seriously, what had he done to get Sanji so distressed? He needed to know and now so he went to Nami that was by the tangerines with Robin. He came closer to both and quickly asked them what had happened.

“Nami, what the hell happened last night? What did I do?” He inquired fearing the answer because he was so confused about everything that could have happened really.

Nami looked at Robin and sighed. She stayed quiet for some time and was seemingly trying to tell him whatever it was in a collected way perhaps to appease him, but that only made him more nervous. She was also trying to hold back a laugh and that only made things worse for him.

When she was ready she began. “You drank a lot last night and now your head hurts a lot, right? You kinda passed out at some point so that’s why you don’t feel too well. It’s called a hangover. Welcome to the adults’ world, I guess.”

She said and it was obvious she was hiding something else. He looked at her expecting for her to continue, but she started reading some book she had in her lap. He pleaded at her to tell him the truth and she seemed to be very against the idea, but at the end just gave up.

“Okay, I didn’t want to tell you because it’s a little problematic. Though I must admit that it’s kind of funny too,” she said trying to contain a laugh in the same way as Robin. When she was done she continued, “I thought Sanji would speak with you, but I guess it’s too troublesome for him, so I’ll tell you instead.”

He was getting anxious from all this. Really, what had he done?

“When we were having the party you drank a lot and it seemed like you didn’t know what was going on anymore and started talking a lot. And by a lot I mean _a lot_. You started saying good things about Sanji and everything was alright, but after some point you said that he was really pretty and that you didn’t want him chasing girls anymore.”

He paled. He couldn’t have done that, right? Of all the possible ways for him to find out of his feelings that was the worst one. He could try to play it cool and make it seem as if that attitude of his just annoyed him since he was the captain and he had to pay more attention to their mission or maybe blame it on the alcohol. He would do that.

He thought they were done, but Nami kept speaking. “That’s not the only thing you said though. You proposed to him, Luffy. You asked Sanji to marry you.”

She finished and the laugh she had been trying to hold escaped through her lips. Robin was in the same state and both laughed well-naturedly about his misery. He couldn’t have done that. If it was going to be difficult to make it look like he was mad at Sanji’s attitude now that option was completely out of the picture. He would have to blame it all on the alcohol.

He was starting to feel out of breath and his headache came back in full force. He was getting nauseous and dizzy. He went to the bathroom running because not only a headache was what his first hangover had provoked.

***

Sanji had been asked by Chopper to prepare some light food for Luffy since he had thrown up the whole afternoon. Now it was already past dinner time and it seemed he was better and could actually eat without expulsing everything from his system. He wasn’t worried because that was what happened to light weights that couldn’t hold their alcohol and he felt he deserved that too for making things difficult. Still, since he was a great cook and crewmate he cooked something that wouldn’t upset his stomach anymore. He wasn’t going to give it to him though, so he let the plate in a table and made Chopper grab it to give it to Luffy.

The doctor had given him a look that meant he should have been the one to serve him food, but he wasn’t getting close to Luffy not now and possibly not ever. It wasn’t like he hated Luffy now, but if what he said was true then things were going to be complicated for both. He was still his captain and he would always respect him, but after he literally asked him to marry him he looked at things with a different perspective.

For starters Sanji seriously didn’t see when or how Luffy started to feel that way for him (if what he said was true), so he guessed he had hidden it well. There was also the fact that things were going to be awkward for him and Luffy because he didn’t like him and he rejecting him was extremely weird. It was like one of those things that never crossed his mind. He didn’t think Luffy would try to woo him in any way because he hadn’t before so there was no reason for him to begin now. And if he did it would make things even weirder. Seriously, why did he have to say those things?

When it was night time he went out of the kitchen and made way for the men’s room. Luffy was going to sleep at the infirmary in case he wanted to throw up again, though Chopper had already given him some medicine for it. He had the impression that Luffy was avoiding him in the same way that he was and for that reason remained in the sick bay. It was kind of funny since he had spent most of the time in the kitchen that was next to the infirmary anyway, but neither had looked over to see the other and he was grateful for that.

After Sanji entered the men’s room to sleep he saw that everyone was looking at him wanting to clearly laugh. These guys were really the worst. He asked them angrily what they wanted, but they remained silent. He changed into his pajamas and put the covers over him. When he closed his eyes he heard laughter and he didn’t need to be a genius to know that they were making fun of him. He tried to keep focused on sleeping, but the laughs got louder and then he heard Usopp saying something about him being the best man for Luffy’s part and that Chopper could be the one for him. Both laughed like madmen, but he wouldn’t make a fuss over it for now; he preferred to sleep.

He continued his efforts to stay calm until he heard Zoro saying that he was going to be Luffy’s best man and he wasn’t having any of it. If there was something he wasn’t able to withstand was the stupid moss head making fun of him so he stood up and started yelling at them to shut up. Everyone that was on the room laughed and it seemed that for much that he tried to keep them quiet they wouldn’t. He would have to use force then.

He went closer to Usopp and Chopper and kicked them in their heads, but Zoro got away faster and he wasn’t able to land a kick on his stupid head. With that everyone got silent and he warned them that if they continued with that shit they would be eating exactly that so it was best not to look for a fight with him. Everyone knew that he was capable of making them eat the worst ingredients ever without caring if they would pass out from them being rancid since it was food at the end of the day anyway.

Sanji went back to his bed and put the covers over his entire body as to not perceive any light or sound. He wanted to rest and with these brutes it would be impossible, but he wouldn’t let them have their way.

When the morning came he woke up feeling better than yesterday and went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the band of morons and of course the lovely ladies. He entered the place and he was apparently still sleepy for he didn’t notice Luffy’s presence there. When they saw each other both widened their eyes and Luffy tried to say something, but seeing that nothing was coming out he went back to the sick bay and ran through the dining room rapidly. He wanted to know what he was doing in his kitchen, but that would mean he would have to talk with him and he didn’t feel ready for that so he let it pass.

Some time passed and the whole crew was there getting ready for breakfast minus the captain that said he wasn’t feeling too well yet. He had to prepare some light food again for him even if he knew well enough that he was probably lying and just didn’t want to see him. It was further proved because Chopper that wasn’t perceptive of anything stated that it was weird that a reaction to alcohol lasted that long, but that he would give him time to get better.

When the crew was done everyone left him alone to wash the dishes because they were lazy like that. The only one that hadn’t left was Chopper that went to check Luffy’s state. When he was done he informed him that Luffy seemed to be better than before, but that he would be staying there to rest. He nodded and the doctor seemed to want to say something else. He made a sign for him to speak and he said between laughs that Luffy would probably feel better if he were to visit him since he liked him and stuff.

He kicked him out of the kitchen rapidly and Chopper protested for the violence, but he had earned that himself. After he was done cleaning everything he felt someone watching him and he didn’t need haki to know that it was Luffy staring at him from the sick bay like a shy toddler. He wanted to tell him to stop doing it, but that would mean that they would be speaking so he opted to just get out of the kitchen to the deck.

When he turned around he noticed that Luffy hid and went back to lie on the bed of the infirmary.  He didn’t make it obvious that he had seen him and simply went out to smoke. When he got to the deck he sat on the wooden floor and lighted a cigarette to try to calm himself. He didn’t want to recognize or admit this, but the more Luffy avoided him the more evident was that he knew what he had done and that it was probably true what he had said when drunk.

He preferred to think that he was embarrassed by his actions because they were awkward as hell and he wouldn’t want to be in that position. But at the same time if he was so abashed by everything it was more probable he would want to clarify things soon and not avoid him. Damn it, everything was so bothersome. He couldn’t handle the thought of Luffy liking him and the crew laughing about Luffy’s apparent crush on him.

In his opinion it was kind of cruel to make fun of them since things could get ugly between them, but as it seemed nothing was confirmed only the drunk “confession” remained on their memories. However, if he was honest if something like this happened to Zoro he would be laughing along with them because looking at it from the outside the thing was freaking hilarious. Since that wasn’t the case he felt distressed and in a really bad mood, which only got worse because he couldn’t get inside his kitchen to cook something good for the ladies and distract his mind.

As lunch time approached he feared going inside the kitchen to prepare things, but he knew he had to do so anyway. Why out of all the places to hide in the ship Luffy had chosen the sick bay that was literally next to the kitchen? Damn it, he was so stupid.

He damned his luck and went to cook something since he knew those beasts would start demanding food from him soon. He entered the password to open the fridge with care since the captain was close and it would be counterproductive to let him find out about it. He took out meat and some vegetables for he was going to cook a beef stew. He would prepare rice with chicken for Luffy even if he knew he was fine already.

Sanji called the crew when the food was ready and they entered the place happy to eat. He asked Chopper to get the rice and chicken to Luffy since he was his patient and everyone wanted to laugh again. The doctor nodded and went to give the captain his food. When he was back he told him that Luffy seemed to want more food than what he had given him, but he only said that since he was sick he couldn’t eat more.

Of course those bastards just had to turn things against him and Zoro opened his mouth to say that he should treat his fiancé better. He was going to kill him and no one would be able to stop him. They started fighting as always and Nami hit them in the heads to silence them and for being annoying. A punch from Nami was almost a caress for him so he didn’t care while Zoro protested only to get hit again by Nami’s lovely fists.

When they were settled they started eating and he thought things would be more normal, but he was so wrong. Even from the kitchen they could hear Luffy’s stomach protesting for not having enough food. He didn’t say anything or stood up from the bed as he was bent on not asking for food or getting close to him, which only further proved his suspicions and worst fears. Still, since he didn’t want to approach him either he didn’t do anything even when the crew looked at him expectantly.

The sounds kept coming from the sick bay and so, feeling guilty that he hadn’t fed the captain well and that if something happened he could die of starvation, he cooked him more chicken and rice. There was no meat if he insisted on lying that he was sick so that was all he did. Chopper was in charge to give Luffy the food again and after that he seemed to calm down.

Lunch time was over and everyone left. He asked everyone to help him wash the dishes, but each one of them ditched his request and he was left alone. Well, not exactly as Luffy remained in the sick bay. He wasn’t saying anything and he didn’t hear him moving so he was kind of amazed he was able to spend that much time without doing anything or calling anyone’s attention.

Sanji tried to clean the plates quickly because for much that Luffy’s efforts of avoiding him were impressive it was still unnerving to have him close. He went out to the deck like he had done earlier and sat by himself not wanting anyone to speak with him. It was weird that he didn’t even desire the ladies’ companies, but he was in the worst mood possible.

There were many questions plaguing his mind like if Luffy really liked him or if he wanted to marry him, but a new one had added up to the others: how long would the captain continue avoiding him? Would he get tired and would make the effort to talk with him or would he just keep quiet? He didn’t wish to think too hard about it, but he couldn’t leave the matter alone; he needed to know.

***

One whole month had gone by and Luffy still hadn’t talked with Sanji. He wasn’t a coward, but this was too difficult. Everyone looked at him expecting for him to do something or to approach the cook, but he just couldn’t and he knew that the more time passed the more obvious it was that his words had been true. He could still blame it on the alcohol, but he knew it was going to be hard to believe it at this point. He could say he was too embarrassed by everything (which he was), but he wasn’t one to be that way for too long and if it had been a simple confusion or mistake from his part he would have spoken with Sanji already.

It was killing him. The whole not-talking-to-Sanji thing was slowly but surely destroying him. The cook wasn’t going to approach him either from what he could see, but the reason was obvious. He had made him feel uncomfortable in front of the whole crew and they teased them endlessly.

He had pretended to be sick for three days, but after that he had been too hungry and he couldn’t continue eating just rice with chicken. He had asked Chopper to bring him meat, but the doctor concluded that he was fine and kicked him out of the infirmary. In a way that was better because he wouldn’t have to spend some awkward times when the crew left Sanji washing dishes or when he cooked, but to go in plain daylight with everyone looking at them was nerve wrecking.

After Luffy had “recuperated” he thought things would go back to normal and while his usual food was served again Sanji only put the plate in front of him, but didn’t say anything. Since he wasn’t prone on speaking either he thanked him looking elsewhere and didn’t direct his gaze at him not even once. The cook didn’t seem to be bothered by that at all and that hurt him in too many ways.

So, the weeks he had spent away from Sanji had been devastating and he all he did all the time was to wait outside at the deck and observe his movements from afar. Something he had always liked to do was to watch him just doing whatever he wanted as he looked so pretty anyway. He had been really proud of himself for not being obvious about how much he actually liked to see Sanji, but now that was ruined and he felt everyone’s eyes on him. For example he knew that Robin was watching him from her lawn next to Nami’s tangerines, but that didn’t stop him from continue to watch if Sanji got out at some point of the kitchen.

After some time he saw Sanji going out to ask something to someone in the men’s room and then he was back at the kitchen. He had hidden his presence, but Sanji was pretty good at observation haki so he wasn’t sure if he had noticed him. He hoped he didn’t as he hadn’t the many times before when he watched him.

Luffy felt pathetic and he hated that. He wasn’t like this. He knew he had to talk with the cook, but he was so bad at lying that if Sanji asked him the truth he would crumble easily and he would spill out the beans faster than lighting.

He sensed a presence approaching and it was Robin that had been seemingly watching the whole situation and the way he had hidden from Sanji looking like a scared cat. She sat down next to him and she didn’t waste any time and spoke up her mind in the way she used to.

“You should talk with him. It’s hard seeing you avoiding him. Also I know it’s hurting you,” she said and laid everything in the open. She didn’t give him any time either.

“I don’t have anything to talk with him. We’re okay. I’m not hurting anywhere either,” he said trying to look as cool as if this wasn’t breaking him and he wasn’t making a fool out of himself by hiding this way.

“You don’t have to feel embarrassed about your feelings. Maybe the way you expressed them wasn’t the best, but try to look at it in a positive way: he now knows how you feel,” she said trying to appease him, but that was so hard too.

That Sanji knew was completely terrible in his opinion, but he didn’t want to admit to that as that would be the same as confirming how he felt so he kept playing the fool and insisted. “There’s nothing I feel embarrassed about. I know I said some weird things, but I didn’t mean them. I just hope he gets that.”

She laughed a little and said, “You hiding and avoiding him doesn’t help too much for him to understand that. Also haven’t you heard the saying ‘in wine lies the truth’? It describes your situation perfectly.”

He wasn’t too smart so he didn’t get anything Robin was trying to say. He asked to understand.

She began again and explained what the phrase meant. “It means that under the effect of alcohol there are more chances people speak with the truth. What I’m trying to say it’s that it’s very possible you actually meant every word you said and you want to get married with Sanji.”

Robin chuckled as this seemed to be very entertaining for her. For his part he didn’t want to accept his love for Sanji as he knew it would only bring him trouble. They just weren’t meant to be. Sanji was a ladies man and he liked meat a lot more than people. His crew and especially the cook were the only exceptions to that rule.

He kept up the farce and tried to find a possible response to what Robin was saying. “I’m not saying that what I said it’s true, but maybe I want to get married with him for other reasons other than me…liking him, you know? Maybe I want him to cook for me every day of my life and that’s a good idea to get what I want.”

He couldn’t believe he had come up with all that bullshit. He was the worst liar ever and Robin wasn’t naive so this wouldn’t hold out for too long. If he was talking with Chopper instead things would be different though.

Also he couldn’t deny that one of the main reasons he liked Sanji so much was because he cooked him many delicious things. Of course there were many more reasons, but he wasn’t going to think about them now with Robin observing and trying to elicit information from him.

“You do like his cooking a lot, but you hiding here doesn’t make much sense with what you’re saying. If that was the only reason you want to get married with him you would have told him already. Or am I wrong?”

She was so intelligent that he wasn’t catching up with her logic at all. Nevertheless, he understood that this was that moment when in chess the king got trapped with no option to keep moving. Was it called check mate and how did he even know about that anyway? He seriously didn’t see any flaw in her thinking, but mostly because he didn’t understand it in its totally so he gave up with a sigh and a pout.

“Okay, okay. Have it your way. I like him. Are you happy now?” He asked annoyed that he had to admit to this even if he didn’t want to.

“I’ll only be happy if you’re fine and for that to happen I think you must speak to Sanji with the truth,” she stated calmly and he got that she was being a good friend so he nodded.

“How can I do that though? He doesn’t want to talk with me and I have been avoiding him for some time. Do you think he’ll even listen to me?” He inquired worriedly because those were things that made it hard for him to speak with the cook.

She didn’t even need time to answer and just told him, “Approaching him and telling him how you feel directly is the best way to go. That won’t leave place for misunderstandings and whatever he chooses will be with him knowing what he’s doing. Though you must be understanding if he doesn’t feel the same way for you and respect his decision, okay?”

He nodded again and smiled at her for being such a great friend. Sure, she had laughed about his situation like the rest, but at least she wanted to help. He still needed to know some things like the exact words he had said that day so he asked her. After his questions were responded he left to find Sanji.

Luffy was extremely nervous about this since he for one hadn’t expected to do this at all. He had never thought he would be confessing to Sanji in any way for he had hoped his feelings to go away with time, but that hadn’t been the case and he had to man up and speak to him to make things right again. It hurt too much to not talk to the cook. He knew that by confessing the rest would know too, but he didn’t care if they mocked him, supported him or anything else; he needed to do this and one month had been too long. He would do it now and no one would stop him.

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji tries to help Luffy, but does he really want that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for the week!  
> I hope you guys enjoy it!

2.

Sanji felt as someone came inside the kitchen with haste. He wanted to believe it was Luffy being back to his usual self and wishing for meat before lunch, but he knew better than that and the captain had surprised him too much as of lately.

“Sanji, we need to talk!” Came the fast exclamation and he feared what was about to happen.

Would Luffy admit that what he had said was true or would he deny everything? The second option was easier and would make things better; the former could destroy them and he wasn’t ready for that so with worry he turned around away from the soup he was preparing.

“Okay, let’s talk. You start, though,” he said while looking at Luffy trying to hide how anxious this was actually making him feel.

The captain didn’t waste any time and began, “What I said when I was drunk it’s true. I do think you’re pretty and I do hate when you chase around women you don’t even know.” He stopped at that. It seemed he had done his research about everything he had said that day, but that wasn’t the most compromising thing he had stated so he waited for the whole thing.

“I also want to marry you at some point because I like you in the same way you like those women.” He finished and he was practically screaming so he guessed the whole crew now knew about this.

Sanji didn’t know what to say. Where to even begin? Luffy had finally confirmed his worst fears and he was still his captain so what could he say? He just couldn’t treat him badly and kick him out of the kitchen because at the end of the day the place that he liked to refer as his was actually Luffy’s and it was only borrowed. Also he would be the worst friend ever for doing something like that. Instead he preferred to make things clear with him and see if things could work out that way.

“I kinda knew that already, but I guess it’s different if you say it.” He took a deep breath and went for the difficult part. “You must know that I don’t like you in that way. I do like you as a _friend_ and nothing more, but I hope we can get along fine even if we’re in this situation.”

He tried to smile a little and by the look on Luffy’s face he got that it wasn’t very reassuring. He probably liked him a lot if he was saying he wanted to marry him, but that wouldn’t make him change his decision. He had to be honest with his captain and friend and tell him how things were exactly so he wouldn’t get confused. An idea then came into his mind, but he couldn’t say it for some reason.

Not long passed before Luffy spoke up again. “I think that’s the best way to go with this too. I know you won’t feel the same for me so let’s not make this hard,” he said and he wasn’t even looking at him in the eyes anymore.

His whole demeanor screamed of pain even when he couldn’t see it in his eyes, but he knew him too well not to notice it. He nodded and said a simple “sure” to not make things complicated. He wasn’t sure things would ever go back to normal, but if they could at least reach a level where they could speak without caring about the other’s feelings then that would be alright.

Luffy didn’t wait for him to say other thing and left the place quickly. He went fast and he hoped he hadn’t gone to cry or something because that would seriously break him. He wasn’t one to care about males’ feelings or anything like that, but with his captain it was different because he was that: _his captain_. He had to respect him and treat him properly even when the man never demanded that from anyone, but it was one of those unspoken rules that every pirate ship held.

Sanji went back to prepare the soup and he cut some vegetables to add to it. Then he thought that Luffy hated vegetables and put them out because he wouldn’t be that much of an ass and make the day worse for the captain. So, he prepared the soup only with meat and while he knew that the ladies wouldn’t like it too much he would do it in a way to appease Luffy.

Was he suffering too much right now? Was he alone? Was he accompanied by someone? Was he talking with someone about what they had spoken?  Was he being hugged by someone? Was anyone telling him that someone else would come someday and they would fall in love and he would be happy at the end?

It wasn’t like Sanji felt that important, but heartbreaks were heartbreaks and they hurt a lot. He had also seen the way he had behaved after he told him that he didn’t like him so he was sure that at the moment he wasn’t having a great time. He really hoped someone from the crew was comforting him. He doing it was counterproductive so for how much that he wished to make things better for Luffy it would only be worse at the end.

He started preparing the main dish and decided that a meat pie could work as ice cream did with the captain. Maybe that way he wouldn’t feel that bad so he cooked the thing trying to make it as best as possible. He would really like this one, he was sure of it.

When he was cutting the meat he remembered the thing he had wanted to tell Luffy so he would feel better but he hadn’t been able to. Maybe whoever was comforting Luffy had already told him in the same way he had thought of it. He had wished to tell him that later he could find someone that would love him a lot and in the same way, but for some reason he didn’t like how that sounded or how it made him feel. It was like he was trying to push Luffy’s hopes into an inexistent person that might not even appear, but that would calm the captain.

It was like an easy way out of the situation and he felt guilty for trying with that. If it was someone else that said it then that would be alright, though he couldn’t lie and say that it made him feel that much better if it was like that too. He would still try with that anyway, but not in a blatant manner, though he would definitely help him.

Sanji started to think about what type of person would make Luffy happy. For starters it had to be someone that was brave or mentally strong because Luffy didn’t like wimps. It had to be someone that was cool but funny at the same time. That person also had to be reliable and make him feel comfortable. Maybe someone like Usopp would be good for him because Zoro wasn’t funny or reliable. It could be a girl too or did he only like guys? Nami and Robin were ruled out because he wouldn’t allow that. If he liked girls too then he could go with Boa Hancock that seemed to like him, even if he would die of envy. If he only liked guys then a good option could be Usopp, though he didn’t know if Usopp liked guys too so maybe that meant they would be back at the same mess.

As he continued to mix flour and eggs for the meat pie he thought about someone that fitted Luffy’s type just fine. He didn’t know if Luffy had a type, but it wouldn’t hurt anyone. If he found someone like that he would try to help him be with them. And so, he began imagining what this person had to have. As he had thought before they had to be strong, funny, cool, reliable and make him feel comfortable, but they also had to be pretty or handsome. They had to respect him a lot, but that wouldn’t be a problem since Luffy was someone that earned everyone’s respect at the end anyway. They also had to feed him because that guy didn’t know how to cook anything. If they didn’t know then he would teach them how to at least prepare something edible.

He kept thinking about the possible traits the person that could make Luffy stop liking him had to have. It had to be someone that had Luffy’s trust and that had firm resolution in him becoming the Pirate King. It couldn’t be anyone below that or he would be wasting his time. It also had to be someone that loved him deeply and not only for his achievements as a big shot in the New World so he would push away any gold digger out there since he was intelligent to recognize them.

The more he thought about it, the more he understood that it had to be someone they already knew or that belonged in their allied forces. It could be someone like Law, but the guy was super boring though Luffy seemed to like him anyway so maybe he could be interested at some point in him if things worked out. Though, if he found someone that was good outside their allies it would fine too he guessed.

Yeah, those options could work if he stopped liking him. With time everything would be fixed and they wouldn’t even remember anything about this. They would probably laugh about it and say “do you remember when I used to like you? Yeah, it was pretty weird” and they would continue with their lives.

Sanji smiled at that. A future where Luffy didn’t like him sounded great if he was honest. It was kind of cruel to think about it that way, but he preferred it over Luffy liking him for no real reason. Did he like him because he cooked for him? It was highly possible and almost understandable given how much he ate, but that couldn’t be the reason he liked him, right? Because anyone could do that, the difference was that he had the skills of a pro so his things were better for him. Perhaps a cook, no matter at what level, could be good for him, though he knew he would miss his cooking after they parted ways upon finding the One Piece. But if it helped him get over his crush he didn’t mind Luffy falling for some other cook that wasn’t better than him.

Content with that train of thought he finished the lunch and called the crew to eat. He hoped everyone came and Luffy wouldn’t lie and say he was sick or something like that again. He saw as the guys entered the dining room with a somewhat calm Luffy that was talking with Usopp and Chopper, but not in the cheeriest way. He was happy to see that at least he wanted to eat so he served the food when everyone was there with a small smile. They thanked him and when they were done they left him alone to wash the dishes, but he asked Usopp to help him clean. The shooter of course didn’t want to, but he insisted and the guy gave up.

When they were alone he asked Usopp right away if Luffy had seemed sad or if he had said anything. Usopp deadpanned and said that everyone had heard Luffy’s declaration so when he had gone outside the kitchen he was already waiting for him so they could talk.

Hearing that made him feel better for he knew Usopp was a great guy and he had Luffy’s back so he wanted him to help him.

“Hey, I know this may sound strange, but have you thought about being with Luffy. I mean you could be great together, you know? And he’s a pretty cool guy too. Kinda cute sometimes even,” he stated and hoped Usopp would understand what he was trying to say.

He wanted to try first with Usopp and see if he might like him and if it didn’t work then he would ask him to help him find possible candidates for the captain. Seeing as Usopp practically broke the dish he was drying it seemed that had never crossed his thoughts.

“What the hell are you even talking about? Are you trying to pair him with someone so he doesn’t bother you? Cause that’s really low,” he said and it was clear he was getting mad about the whole thing.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just saying that maybe he should try with other people and you may be someone…safe for him,” he said correcting what Usopp had implied.

He didn’t have a better word for what Usopp could represent to Luffy, but that was exactly what he thought of him. Usopp for his part just shook his head.

“You’re trying in vain. He likes _you_ and that can’t be changed in a short time no matter how much you want. Also you have to take into consideration my feelings too and I really don’t like him, like at all. You already know that I have someone waiting for me back at home,” he said rather proudly the last part and he was dying of envy because he couldn’t say the same.

“Okay, I get it, but I still think that it would be a good idea for him to find someone else. That treats him well and likes him, so help me out with that?”

Usopp looked unconvinced and shook his head again, but seemed to think about it. “I don’t know. Are you talking about someone in specific or just anyone that appears?”

“It can’t be just anyone, it has to be someone that we know is safe for him, that’s cool and knows how to cook too cause Luffy won’t accept less than that,” he stated those points so the sniper could help him.

The man deadpanned again and said, “Sanji, you’re describing _yourself_. You can’t describe yourself if you want Luffy to like someone else. Are you sure you don’t want to be with him?”

He blushed instantly upon hearing that. What was Usopp saying? He knew that there were reasons as to why Luffy liked him, but that didn’t mean he was his only option.

“No, I wasn’t describing myself. I was only thinking about the possible things Luffy liked that he may like again but from a different source.” He corrected Usopp again because he clearly wasn’t getting anything right.

“So, you want Luffy to like someone that is just like you, but isn’t you? Isn’t that extremely weird? You want them to be blond too, right?” He finished with a laugh.

Okay, maybe it was strange seeing it from Usopp’s perspective, but he hadn’t meant it like that. He really just wanted to help Luffy in any way he could.

“No, I don’t care about their hair color. It could be green or pink and I wouldn’t care. All I’m asking is for you to help me find him someone good. He’s just wasting time with me,” he stated while putting more detergent in the sponge to clean the dishes.

“Zoro is okay then? But I still think that Luffy’s feelings for you won’t disappear immediately after he finds someone new. Love doesn’t work like magic after all.”

He knew that better than anyone, but if it could help him soothe whatever pain he was feeling or accelerate the healing process then he would do that. Sanji was feeling desperate with Usopp not getting his point so he spoke up.

“Of course the moss head isn’t an option; he isn’t cool so Luffy will never like him. That would be like waiting for the World Government to stop being corrupt. What I mean is for him to see different people and to understand that there are other options. I know that he won’t feel better instantly, but maybe he can forget faster,” he said in an assertive way hoping Usopp would get it right this time.

The man seemed to finally understand what he was saying and nodded approving of his idea so Sanji explained him how he could help him. He had thought that in every island that they landed they would have to actively look for people that might like him and when he was done with that Usopp gave him thumbs ups as he liked his plan.

This plan couldn’t fail and Luffy would find someone good for him with his help. Not someone better, because he didn’t feel that was right. If they were good they were okay.

***

They were at a new island that night and Luffy was incredibly tired. They had walked around the whole town the entire day so he didn’t feel his feet anymore. What had made it even more exhausting was having to see Sanji flirting with so many women he lost count of them. He even introduced them to him. Didn’t he know how that make him feel? Was he such a blockhead that he didn’t get that it hurt him?

Usopp was no better than him either as he showed him guys instead of women, as if almost competing over who presented more people to him. What were they even doing?

They had decided to stay to party that day at one bar of the island’s town. The bar was celebrating their anniversary so they were going to be serving beer for free after the first drink and that was a chance no one would let pass by. They all went to the place except for Jinbei that said someone needed to look over the ship and that he didn’t care about parties anyway.

With that everything was ready and they had entered the bar. The place was huge and packed to the rim with pirates and general bandits. There were some people from the town as well so he guessed the place was really good if normal people were willing to come to such a dangerous place.

The bar had little green and blue lights here and there that made it possible to see and not crash on something, but enough to hide what people could be doing. That was interesting and somehow enticing. The music that accompanied augmented the feeling that the place was great to do forbidden things and when Luffy saw people kissing like there was no tomorrow his heart skipped a beat thinking that he could be doing that with Sanji if it wasn’t for the fact that he didn’t like him back.

After Luffy had told him how he felt they had tested the waters and slowly began mending their relationship. It took him days to even approach him to ask for meat, but they were past that and were talking normally as before. He still didn’t like to get too close to him or touch him like he used to because it hurt him too much to do that.

So, now that another month had gone by Luffy was feeling better, but that didn’t mean he was alright. His heart was still in pain and whenever he saw Sanji flirting with anyone he felt a hole in his very soul. He knew he had it bad for the cook, but it always amazed him how much he actually liked him.

Seeing how sad he felt he took the first sip from his first beer and while it tasted great it didn’t soothe his pain in the least so he kept drinking to numb whatever he was feeling. Liquor really did wonders when it was needed.

Many beers after Luffy wasn’t sure where he was and who he was talking to. From their voice it wasn’t anyone from the crew. Where were they? Was he alone? The alcohol made him not care about that so he kept listening to the husky voice he was hearing.

“So you’re telling me that you like someone, but they don’t like you back at all? That must suck, man. Never happened to me if I’m honest,” the man stated and he laughed for even drunk he knew that was bullshit.

“You expect me to believe that? Do you think I’m an idiot? I’m gonna be the Pirate King so trust me when I say I know shit.” He finished talking with a laugh and he knew he probably messed the pronunciation of many words.

The other man laughed too and told him, “Okay, maybe I lied, but I have never been this upset about it. Guess I just didn’t like them enough or like you do.”

He nodded because he was right. He liked Sanji in a special way so he wasn’t able to just forget about him easily. He wanted to continue talking with…What was his name again?

“Man, what was your name? I don’t think you have told me,” he asked without a trace of shame for forgetting someone’s name like that.

“My name is Hector and I already know you’re Luffy the Straw hat pirate so I don’t need to ask. You’re famous already while I’m a simple uprising star. Think you can teach something so I can be cool like you?” The man now identified as Hector said while laughing a little.

“Oh, Hector, I don’t want to be rude with you, but how can a guy that doesn’t have the man they like be cool? I know that I look cool when fighting, but I’m just a poor dude that can’t be liked back. Can you believe my problem?” He said and he felt as some tears welled up in his eyes. He was almost crying because as of now he didn’t have any control anymore.

“Mister Luffy, I didn’t get a word of what you said, but I kinda get what you’re trying to tell me. Are you sad because you can’t be with the one you like?” He asked with worry and he nodded.

He had thought he had been as clear as the water while stating everything, but he supposed that was the beers’ effect. Also this Hector guy was really cool, but he didn’t know how old he was so he asked him.

“Hey, Hector guy, how old are you? Are you younger than me? Cause if it’s like that you can call me Luffy just fine. Or whatever you want actually. Call me future Pirate King and we’ll be good,” he said with a smile and hoped he was heard properly this time because he had made the effort to speak better.

Hector chuckled and said, “I have 23, but out of respect I call you Mister Luffy. You’re a great inspiration for me you see, so I’ll continue calling you that if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t give a shit about what anyone calls me really. I only want Sanji to call me darling at least once in my life and then I can die happy.” He finished, but recalled something. “First I have to find the One Piece though.”

He could hear Hector’s voice echoing inside his head and he thought that was really funny. His laughter was pretty, not at the level of Sanji’s, but it was melodic anyway so he continued listening to what the fellow pirate had to say.

“I didn’t know this was about one of your crew. I had thought it was just some random dude, but I guess it makes sense that it’s him since your crew is really close,” he declared while drinking from his jar of rum.

It was extremely stupid to be drinking rum at this bar when they could drink beer for free so his mouth opened up to tell him that before he even finished thinking about it.

“Why are you drinking rum when it’s free beer night? Are you stupid?” When he said that he laughed loudly because he was freaking hilarious when drunk. Would he remember this tomorrow? He didn’t know.

The man laughed well-naturedly and said, “I just don’t like beer. My crew likes it a lot so we came here. Can’t have the rascals going without their captain, you know?”

His eyes opened a little and the light was really strong for him, but he started again. “Oh, so Hector guy, you’re a captain just like me? Maybe that’s why we kinda kick it off that fast.”

“Yeah, I get the tiredness taking charge of a crew can bring. From maintaining the order to making the crew do their best. Liking one of them is something I can’t relate to, though,” Hector said and he sounded proud of his actions as captain.

Instead Luffy laughed and corrected the man because he was making some wrong assumptions. “I don’t maintain the order or make them do their best; they do that on their own. The one that brings problems is me.” He laughed strongly and he wasn’t thinking straight anymore.

Hector simply shook his head while laughing and seemed to think about something. Then he asked him, “But talking seriously, how do you do it? It’s hard to keep a group together and that they get along and your crew looks really close to me.”

He closed his eyes since he hadn’t gotten the whole thing really. Also that was the first time someone asked him how he did to keep them together. If he was honest his crew just happened to be cool like that without him doing anything. Perhaps he had a great eye to choose people. The rest of what the guy said passed by him and while he could have asked what he had told him he decided he didn’t care and spoke up again.

“I think they are really cool so I don’t do anything really. They can handle themselves just fine. I bet you want a crew like that, right? Can’t have them though! Especially Sanji; he’s all mine to keep!” He exclaimed knowing that if Sanji were to hear him he would get his ass kicked.

The other pirate whistled and stated, “You really have it bad for your cook, but if he doesn’t see you that way why don’t you try with someone else. You know the saying ‘there are plenty more fish in the sea’? I think it’ll be good for you to at least try with that.”

Luffy shook his head. He didn’t want “someone new”; he wanted Sanji, his cook. It was true that if he didn’t like him he couldn’t be with him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t like him. No one could deny him the right to dream about them being together and so he would continue pursuing Sanji while in dreams. One could say that it was incredibly painful and downright toxic to cope that way, but he didn’t care.

“I only like Sanji. Even if you bring me a cute blond cook that has the same personality and skills as him I would still like him,” he said with confidence for he wasn’t going to change his mind on this.

“I think you’re too fixed on him. Maybe there’s someone better out there waiting for you. You can’t just expect your whole life for him to like you back. You could miss out on great things because of that.” He tried to reason with him, but what was better than Sanji anyway?

“You just don’t get it cause you’re too young. Also you haven’t tasted any of his dishes so he hasn’t enchanted you with that.” Both laughed again and the serious tone the conversation had gained was lost immediately.

They continued talking about this and that and then he told Hector to taste his beer because it was really good and that if he liked it he could start ordering beers that were free instead of being stupid and wasting money on rum. It had taken him a lot of time to actually pronounce that, but at the end the man got it and thanked him for it.

Luffy was going to hand his glass to Hector, but the man stopped him while he poured more rum in his jar. He looked at him strangely, but when he was done he explained that they could do a toast with their drinks exchanged. He thought it was a great idea and then he gave the glass with beer and accepted the jar with rum.

He put his jar in the air, but Hector made him stop and told him that it would be funnier to interlace their arms while drinking. So after that he raised his arm and said cheers, to then interlace his arm with Hector’s and drink close to the other man. It was fun for he had thrown almost the whole rum over both. He was so wasted he didn’t know how he would wake up tomorrow morning.

When they separated they laughed a lot and both were wet with rum. He noticed that Hector made a displeased face and he asked what that was about, but he only said he had that face because beer still tasted awful for him. He chuckled and told him that he needed practice.

He decided that if they could do that again perhaps he would like beer this time so he started speaking again.

“Let’s try again! Let’s cheer and then you can taste beer again. I know you’ll like it, you just have to try harder,” he said with enthusiasm and the other man nodded.

They filled their glass and jar and they began their poses for the new cheers.

“It’s a part…” He was about to say, but he felt a hand clenching his ear and it hurt too much for him to continue as if nothing happened.

The hand that was on his ear pulled him away from Hector and he started protesting because he didn’t understand the situation. Was he under attack? Luffy didn’t think a hand would be what anyone would use to kill him because he was seriously much stronger than that. If he died because of a hand he would die of embarrassment.

“Stop, stop! I don’t want to die over a simple hand. I’m too strong for that,” he pleaded and whoever it was that was holding him let him go.

He turned around and saw that it was Sanji. He guessed he had nothing to fear, but he still asked, “What are you doing here? I thought no one was here.”

“We have been here the whole time. You just stood up and went to sit down with this dude. We were literally in front of you, you just didn’t see us,” he said annoyed, but he didn’t get what made him be so mad.

“Don’t be angry, Sanji. You look better with a smile. Also this is my new friend Hector.” He saw as Sanji only lifted his face a little in a saluting way, but didn’t say anything.

“Okay, it’s great seeing you made a friend, but we have to go back to the Sunny cause we’re leaving early tomorrow,” he said, his tone clearly cold and he didn’t like that, but perhaps he was annoyed at him for drinking too much.

“Hey, don’t be angry Sanji. Also by tomorrow you mean today? Cause I’m sure it’s well past midnight or at least that’s what this Hector guy told me. Or were you lying, Hector?” He laughed with the man while Sanji looked impossibly more irked.

Sanji didn’t say anything and made a sign for him to stand up. After he got up with a lot of effort he went to Hector’s side and hugged him because he had been a great new friend: he had listened to all his bullshit and had tried to help him. What a cool dude he was.

The cook looked even more annoyed and he only stopped grimacing when he pulled away from the hug and bid farewell to Hector. As they made their way back to the crew he felt his whole world spinning so Sanji had to help him keep steady on his feet.

It was funny how it was true the crew had been in front of him the whole time. He had been too lazy to look for them, but they were so great and nice with him that he felt the need to cry because he felt so lucky to have them around.

When they reunited again they noticed that he was crying and asked him if something was wrong and all he could say was thank you over and over without stopping. He kept crying and saying that until they were outside the bar and Nami hit him on the head for being too bothersome. He shut up, but he continued crying because Nami was such a great woman.

Luffy was helped by Usopp and Zoro to their ship and when they got inside the Sunny he was sent to sleep immediately. He nodded and was led to his bed. As he entered the men’s room he felt nauseous and had to run to the bathroom. He heard Chopper coming behind him and asking him if he was alright.

He didn’t know about that. All the fun he had with Hector seemed to have disappeared as he leaned in the toilet to let out all the booze he had that night. He was an incorrigible idiot that hadn’t understood what happened with alcohol if he drank too much, but on his defense when he saw Nami drinking she had more than him so he thought he could handle that much just fine. He was plainly wrong and here were the consequences.

Chopper brought a syringe with some medicine for him to stop throwing up. He injected it to him and after some time he felt better. When his eyes weren’t as unfocused as before and when his stomach didn’t seem to want to get out of his body he got up and went back to the men’s room with Chopper in tow.

Luffy thanked him for his attention and lay on his bed. He put the covers over him and he didn’t need to be sober to catch everyone’s eyes on him. He preferred to just sleep and as he closed his eyes he wondered if he would remember this night tomorrow.

***

Sanji knew he had ruined the whole thing. He had blown up everything he had ever prepared before for this was really the best chance; Luffy had been with a guy clearly flirting and he had been stupid enough to go retrieve him. However, he had a good reason for his actions and they were that the man didn’t have his approval. This so called Hector guy appeared out of nowhere since Luffy had sat next to him suddenly so he didn’t know his personality or intentions. One could say that if Luffy just got off his back then everything would be fine for him, but he didn’t want for his captain to be taken advantage of by anyone. So, before even thinking of trying something with Luffy they had to first pass over him.

The Thousand Sunny was navigating and they had already had breakfast. Of course Luffy had been dead weight that morning so he had come to eat later and he had given him food under the condition that he wouldn’t drink that much ever again. Luffy had nodded a lot, but something in his eyes told him that he was lying. He seriously didn’t care if he drank too much, but he was a real pain in the ass when drunk so he supposed that his condition could work as a lesson and he would stay away from alcohol for some time.

When he was done he had left him alone and Sanji started preparations for lunch. The last town had lots of octopus for some reason so he would cook octopus with chorizo and potatoes. He knew that Luffy’s stomach was probably still unsettled, but that was his fault and his responsibility so if he wanted something else he would have to ask.

As he cut the potatoes with expertise he heard someone getting inside the kitchen. It was Usopp that had come alone. He knew what he wanted to talk so he wasn’t surprised. When he had gone to “rescue” Luffy from that man’s clutches Usopp had given him pointed looks from the moment he stood up to look for the captain to when they were about to sleep. That had continued in the morning so he was sure he had come to talk about his stupidity. He couldn’t blame him though; he was the one to initiate the plan and he had been the one to ruin it.

“Why did you do that? He could have found someone and you went to look for him? It was almost as if you were saving him, Sanji. Really, what the hell was that about?” Usopp didn’t miss a beat and started the conversation.

He turned around and finally addressed his presence in the kitchen. “I did what I thought was good. You know I said _I_ would look for someone so I didn’t know this guy and I don’t want Luffy to be with some stranger. They can hurt him so they have to first get past me.”

The sharpshooter looked at him and sighed. Then he responded, “Sanji, that’s so messed up. I get that you want to protect him from this cruel world, but it isn’t really your responsibility.”

He shook his head and said, “Yes, I know that, but as his friend I want the best for him and I’m sure I’ll be able to find it.”

Usopp rolled his eyes and asked him, “And what is the best for him? How can _you_ know and not him?”

That was a tricky question. If Sanji was honest he wasn’t sure how he just knew who was perfect for Luffy and who wasn’t. That Hector guy just didn’t make it to the good options list. It wasn’t that hard to understand. He knew Luffy’s character a lot better than what people gave him credit for so when he said he didn’t like that man then there were probably real reasons for that.

“I think I understand him quite well. Maybe even better that he himself does so that’s why I’m helping,” he stated with confidence, but Usopp as always just deadpanned.

“You know him better than himself? Sanji, if I didn’t know any better I would say you’re just jealous and instead of helping him get over you, you’re scaring away anyone that may like him,” the man said while crossing his arms over his chest and looked at him as if seeing right through him.

He felt himself blush and he didn’t like what Usopp had said at all. There was no way he was jealous. He was just a good friend that wanted the best for his people. Was that so hard to understand? He guessed it was for Usopp had really stated that.

“You’re looking too much into it, Usopp. I’m simply trying to help him find someone that is good for him and that will treat him well. If they know how to cook then it’s better. That’s all there’s it to it,” he said regaining composure.

“Okay, but I insist, how will you be able to know what’s best for him? Also how are you going to know if they cook? Will you make them pass a test? You almost make it sound as if he won’t find anyone that’s better than you.” When he said that his eyes widened as if he had just understood the mystery behind the Void Century. Then he quickly added, “That’s what’s going on: you don’t want him to find anyone that’s better than you. It may sound as if you think too high of yourself, but it’s the complete opposite. You’re just insecure.”

Usopp laughed hysterically while he held his sides. He was making so much noise that he wanted for him to stop so the rest wouldn’t get interested in their conversation. The blush that had disappeared came back in full force. Sanji went to Usopp’s side so he would stop making that much ruckus, but the man continued and it was getting really annoying. Not knowing what to do he threw him water with a glass and the guy finally shut up.

He started protesting, but after that he continued with his idea. “Come on, Sanji. Just admit that you’re jealous. It isn’t that hard to do. Now, the reasons behind that aren’t too many, but I’m sure you’ll understand.”

He shook his head because he wasn’t accepting this. No, he seriously wouldn’t as he didn’t see it that way at all. Usopp kept insisting though.

“Sanji, repeat after me: I’m jealous of whoever may like Monkey D. Luffy. Now, say it with me: I’m jea…”He shut him up with a kick to the shin and the guy started crying.

Usopp started protesting again, but Sanji was furious and so he kicked him out of the kitchen. He heard all the insults the man threw his way after he closed the door, but he didn’t care one bit. He wouldn’t let Usopp come to his kitchen to spread false rumors and make him seem like a bad guy. He really wanted to help Luffy and he was confident that he knew how to do it so if Usopp was stupid enough not to see it then that was his problem. He would continue with his plan even if no one supported him.

***

Luffy heard Usopp swearing like a pirate would and that almost made him feel proud. After the years he had really leveled up to the way of the pirate. He wanted to congratulate him for his words, but he looked incredibly annoyed so he approached him to know if he had a problem.

“Usopp, is something wrong?” He asked, worried his good friend had some sort of trouble.

“It’s just that stupid boyfriend of yours being annoying. I shouldn’t tell you, but he’s like that because of you.” Boyfriend? Did he mean Sanji?

“What are you talking about? Did Sanji do something? What does that have anything to do with me?” He asked with his whole attention on the matter at hand. Usopp never referred to Sanji in that way so it had to be something important.

“Well, it’s hard to explain because he did something but at the same time he didn’t.” He looked at him puzzled and the sniper continued, “He was looking for people that you may like, but when he saw you with that guy back at the bar he got cold feet and stopped you from getting with him.”

He wasn’t getting anything Usopp was saying. Why would Sanji even do that? He was so strange sometimes, but if he thought it carefully, what did that have to do with Usopp anyway?

“Why is he doing that? And why are you involved in it?” Luffy inquired lost to where everything was going.

Usopp rolled his eyes, but still said, “Because he wants you to be happy with someone else, so he’s searching for your perfect match. But it seems they have to be tested by him first so they can actually talk to you. Since that guy you were flirting with yesterday was someone he didn’t approve he went to pick you. I was helping him to look for someone for you, but now I’m out.”

Luffy’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe this. Sanji was really looking for partners for him. It sounded as if he was tired of he liking him and he felt incredibly hurt by it. It did explain why he would sometimes approach him with women and Usopp with men. It was so painful to think that Sanji wanted him off his case that much.

It seemed the pain was visible on his face for Usopp tried to reassure him. “Hey, don’t take it that way. I think he did it with good intentions and not because he hates that you like him. He thinks you’re better off with someone else, but as I said before he got cold feet and aborted the mission.”

It was a lot better to hear that than thinking Sanji went out of his way to get him someone because he didn’t like him. Nevertheless, he still had questions.

“What do you mean with that he got cold feet? Also I wasn’t flirting with Hector. We were just talking,” he said with curiosity.

“Really? The way you laughed and were really close didn’t look like normal talking to me or to anyone really. It seriously looked as if you were flirting, especially the part where you were exchanging drinks,” Usopp said and he had to make him understand what really was happening.

“No, we were literally just exchanging drinks. He didn’t like beer and I let him taste of mine. He thought it would be fun to do it that way and it really was. Also he was giving me advice about the whole Sanji doesn’t like me back thing,” he said and he was rather irked that everyone had misunderstood the situation.

“And what type of advice was that? If he told you to get over Sanji with someone else then he was definitely flirting with you. With someone else he meant himself.” He looked at him incredulously.

Well, it was true that was exactly what he had said, but he didn’t get that vibe from him at all, so he told Usopp that.

“I don’t think he was doing that when he spoke with me. He was a general good guy, you know? Nothing more,” he said, but something was still missing. “What do you mean with Sanji aborted mission? What the hell is that?”

Usopp took a deep breath and said, “I mean that he didn’t want you hooking up with that guy. It might not have looked like he was flirting to you, but to us it seemed that was what he was doing. So, Sanji couldn’t handle it anymore and went to rescue you.”

Rescue him? That didn’t make any sense since he wasn’t someone that needed to be saved and Hector was cool so he wouldn’t be doing anything bad to him. He kept looking at Usopp not understanding what he said so the sniper sighed and said.

“He was jealous, Luffy. Do you not understand that? He didn’t want you with some other guy cause he probably wants you all for himself,” he said in an exasperated way as if not believing his idiocy.

He blushed. If Sanji was like that then maybe he liked him too, but how did that happen? The cook showing sings that he might like him was not easy to see and he really didn’t think he felt that way for him. It wasn’t like he didn’t believe Usopp’s words, but it was too strange to think that Sanji might have feelings for him.

“Do you mean it? How do you know that? Was he acting different yesterday?” He asked and he knew his voice held too much hope.

“He was upset the whole time at the bar back when you stood up to talk with that guy. After seeing that you were exchanging drinks he stood up and went to pick you. We talked about it just now and I realized that he doesn’t want you to find someone else; he’s only pushing possible competition away from you. He’s too stupid so he doesn’t get it,” Usopp said and the way he made it sound was really interesting for maybe he could be with Sanji.

“Okay, now I get it, but what should I do?” He asked Usopp for he didn’t know what to do. If it were for him he would be already running to look for Sanji.

“I don’t know. Maybe you can tell him what we just talked so he stops being annoying. I don’t care if you say I was the one that told you this. Though, if he wants to kick my ass then you have to protect me,” he said and left him to go to his factory.

Luffy nodded and went to the kitchen so he could speak with Sanji. If what Usopp said was true then he could be with him and he would be so happy that way. He didn’t have second thoughts about this; he would talk with Sanji and see where this would lead them.

***

“Do you like me, Sanji? That hasn’t changed for me and I still like you a lot!” Luffy’s loud exclamation came.

They would be doing this: Luffy would say how much he liked him and then he would reject him. Luffy’s sad demeanor again would be a torture for both, but he knew he had to be clear this time too. If Sanji had been honest the first time then he could be honest a second time.

It was really close to lunch hour so Sanji needed to make this quick as cruel as that sounded. He looked away from the pan with octopuses and saw that Luffy was looking out of breath. He must have been as nervous as he was feeling right now. He didn’t like this sensation of being abnormally anxious with the captain. Before everything was simple and he liked things that way.

He didn’t wait for the man to speak up again and started. “No, Luffy, I don’t like you that way. I think we have made that clear already, so don’t come asking again.”

It seemed he didn’t really believe what he said, so instead he inquired, “Then why are you jealous? Usopp said that you didn’t want me with anyone that wasn’t you so I don’t see how you don’t like me too.”

That long nose just had to run and tell Luffy all of that even when he had gotten it wrong. He tried to explain that to the captain.

“Usopp got everything wrong. I bet he told you that I was looking for new people that you may like, right?” Luffy nodded and he continued, “That’s something I’m doing because I want you to be happy with someone that isn’t me because I just don’t like you or see you that way.”

Luffy didn’t seem to be buying anything he was saying though, and told him, “But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t want me with Hector even if we weren’t doing anything.”

Sanji didn’t like to repeat himself, but it was his captain and he had to make him see things for what they were. “That’s because you’re my friend and I only want the best for you. Since we didn’t know anything about that guy I thought it may be dangerous at the end for you.”

He thought he was being a great friend for his actions and that Luffy would feel better, but his face was obviously not demonstrating that all.

“What are you even saying? How do you know what’s good, bad or best for me anyways?” While he did have a response to that, admitting it to the captain was embarrassing so he kept quiet. No way in hell he would say he had a better understanding of him than he did. Luffy noticing his silence continued, “You are what’s best for me, Sanji. No one else, so don’t waste your time trying to pair me up with someone cause it won’t work.”

He was such a hardhead, but he didn’t have anything to tell him actually since his claims of love wouldn’t make him change his mind. He told him that.

“Okay, I get that you’re probably really into me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like you that way. I’m sorry, Luffy.” He apologized and hoped the guy would understand.

Luffy didn’t as he said again, “That still doesn’t explain why you were jealous.”

Sanji rolled his eyes. He had already explicated that. “Luffy, I told you just one minute ago that I only wanted the best for you and that since we didn’t know that guy you met yesterday I went to get you out of there.”

Luffy stayed quiet and kept looking at him with something unreadable in his eyes. Not much passed and he spoke up.

“Do you want me to make you jealous again? I can definitely do that if you’re too lost about what you want,” Luffy stated with confidence and he got closer to him in a dangerous way.

The air in the kitchen was getting hot and he didn’t like that one bit. Sanji backed a little while Luffy pursued him in an almost enticing way. His cheeks got red and when he didn’t have more space he hit the kitchen counter. Luffy was incredibly close and it was becoming hard to breathe. He wanted to push him away, but something deep inside him told him that he being that close was perfect.

He needed to find his voice again and said rapidly, “Don’t do that. It won’t work. I just don’t see you that way.”

Luffy stopped following him, separated from him and stated in a simple way, “I’ll try anyways. I want to see you get so mad you won’t be able to think about anything else anymore.”

With that he left and he was speechless. Had Luffy just tried to seduce him? It was almost surreal, but he supposed that was exactly what had happened.

Sanji took deep breaths and when he heard the pan overflowing he went to finish cooking the octopuses for lunch. He still felt the blush on his face and the way his heart beat way too strongly. Whatever Luffy had said or done had provoked this on him and it was almost as if he had been played by the captain.

Thanks to Usopp, Luffy now thought he had a chance with him when it wasn’t like that. The blush and his indecisiveness could be misunderstood for him wanting Luffy in a different way, which wasn’t the case, but how to explain that to such a stubborn captain? He would be losing more time with him while doing that in vain. He would also be exposing himself to so many dangerous things. If he tried hanging with guys or women they could try to take advantage of him since he was really famous for going against the law. He was an extremely well-known pirate in the whole world so he could totally see people approaching him just for fame or even worse, enemies, both pirates and marines, seeking to kill him in a different manner.

He was panicking. Luffy was creating too many problems as usual. It was much better when he was this cute little guy that only ate; no thoughts of love and no seducing anyone, just the pure desire to get to be the Pirate King and a good friend. He was like that with everyone so what happened that he liked him anyway? Other than Sanji serving him food he seriously didn’t do anything too interesting that might call his attention. He was boring as a clam sometimes and he recognized that, so why did Luffy like him?

He took one final last deep breath as he prepared the dishes. Did he really just compare himself to a bloody clam? Luffy was going to make him crazy and he would be the only one to blame.

If he did things that made Luffy laugh a lot then he would get why he liked him as much as claimed, but he didn’t. All he ever did was cook for him and sometimes speak to him about the All Blue. That couldn’t be reason enough, right? He wasn’t someone funny to be around really and the women that he approached liked him more for his appearance and his colorful words towards them than for him being a fun guy. So, he just didn’t see where all the love his captain felt for him came from. Sanji felt too scared to actually ask him, but it was true he wanted to know.

It was like a part of his curiosity was picked when Luffy first stated his interest, even when drunk. It was like a door had been opened and he didn’t know how to close it anymore. Every little action the captain did somehow reverberated inside of him for small that it was. When they weren’t talking he saw as Luffy was always watching him so that made him wonder if he did that without him noticing before. Perhaps he did and he was just too distracted to catch on that.

Had he always been that affectionate about his food? He didn’t think much of when Luffy expressed how much he liked his food since he knew he was a great cook and that Luffy loved food so it was easy to miss that too.

Other than that, what could be other signs of Luffy’s feelings? Did he spend time thinking about him? Did he dream they could be together at some point? Did he wish to kiss him and see his reaction to it? The last question left him feeling breathless and he knew he had to stop thinking about it immediately for he was in unknown waters and he could sink deeply if he kept that up.

When Sanji had the dishes ready he waited to call the crew to eat. He didn’t want to see or be close to Luffy that soon so he preferred to be on his own for a while longer. He couldn’t stop his mind from taking him to a scenario in where he could kiss Luffy. When he stopped imagining that he thought that it was time for the crew to come. He didn’t want to think about the possible causes of what his mind just provided him. If he thought about kissing Luffy that didn’t have to mean anything, right?

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Hector guy was actually just nice and wasn't flirting with Luffy lol. He did get everyone confused though.  
> Also, Sanji is being kind of annoying and I apologize on his behalf since he is just lost!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy dances and Sanji goes crazy. Things don't go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for this fic!  
> I hope you guys like it and thanks for reading!

3.

A week had passed since his new declaration of love for Sanji. Luffy had said he would make him feel so jealous he wouldn’t know what to do, but even if he had stated that he really wasn’t good at it. Luffy just didn’t know how to flirt with anyone. He kind of got when people liked him, but that didn’t mean he flirted back with them since he only had eyes for the One Piece and then, at some point, for Sanji as well.

Luffy tried in every town and island they visited, but it just wasn’t working. It was almost like instead of attracting people he was scaring them. Maybe this was what always happened when Sanji tried to woo random women since he never achieved much with that.

It was really weird to just approach guys with that intention in his opinion. It was hard to see if they were interested in him or if they only wanted a good fight. He was good to satisfy the latter so when he noticed that the dudes he tried to conquer just wanted to dispute against him he gave them what they wanted and left them knocked out rapidly.

Whenever that happened he noticed Sanji’s stare on him. His eyes reflected something he couldn’t understand, but he never saw mockery in them since he was clearly making a fool out of himself. The rest of the crew did laugh about his poor attempts and at first were confused as to why he would do that when he had said he liked Sanji so much, but they never questioned his actions anyway.

He was getting kind of desperate for he had great expectations for this plan. If Sanji could just admit that he liked him too after getting mad seeing him around guys then he would stop doing this entirely. He really didn’t have eyes for anyone else, but if it helped somehow to make Sanji understand then he would do it.

Luffy knew only one person that could help him in his quest and that could actually give him proper love advice; the rest were only novices compared to this man. It couldn’t be anyone other than Brook. So, before landing in another island he went to look for him so he could give him some nice words.

He found him resting with Nami by the navigator’s trees and he asked Nami to leave so they could talk alone, but she didn’t and demanded for him to speak in front of her since she was bored. Luffy knew better than to argue with her so he just sat down and started asking Brook his thoughts on the matter. The skeleton man didn’t seem too surprised by what he was saying while Nami was covering her mouth for the impression she was feeling.

“So, you are saying that Sanji was actually jealous of you that day at the bar? We only teased him, but I thought he was just upset because he wanted to go back quickly to the Sunny. He had tried to flirt with some women and none paid attention to him. To think he was really jealous that day…” She said totally amused by the information. He knew her well enough and was sure she was enjoying from the gossip.

Brook stayed quiet for some time and when he was done thinking he spoke up. “I see what you’re trying to do, but I’m not too sure if it’s a good idea. Though if you want to follow that plan then I’ll help you.”

Brook said and Luffy thought he looked really cool trying to transfer him some of his wisdom, but Nami said he just didn’t know how to aid him. She also said that his idea, while really interesting and fun, was pretty toxic. She told him that it could end hurting both if he tried with that, but he only said that he would stop if he saw things went awry.

Since that was settled he asked Brook for the advice he needed so much.

“First of all, you can’t just go and tell guys that you want to kiss them as if asking them for money or food.” He nodded. It was true he did that so he motioned for Brook to continue. “Second, you have to approach them directly, but not suddenly or out of nowhere. It isn’t cute or romantic to have someone made of rubber popping up. It scares people.”

Brook said that and he laughed while Nami shook her head and said that he shouldn’t tell people that. He kept on with his advice.

“Third, you have to be sure you look attractive. You can’t just expect people to like you immediately when you are dirty or don’t smell the best. You can also dress up in a more formal wear,” he said and he didn’t like those things too much. They were really tiresome.

“So, you’re saying that I should wash myself every day, right?” The man nodded and Nami was almost crying at the prospect of him being clean. Then he added, “With formal wear you mean to dress like Sanji? I don’t want to look like that.”

It wasn’t that Luffy was embarrassed about Sanji’s clothes and whenever he saw him in new ones he felt so happy, but he felt that was his thing and he didn’t want to imitate that. He guessed he could keep himself clean when going to the islands so people would like him and Sanji would get jealous.

Luffy explained to Brook that he preferred to just wear his normal clothes and when that point was clear the man continued.

“You need to be smart and identify the situation right. If you see some guy is paying attention to you, you go to him and not the ones that aren’t.” He nodded and kept listening intently to everything he had to say.

“But the most important thing you need to apply to this is that you must come as mysterious and interesting. Don’t throw yourself at anyone. Let the other do the final moves and that’s how you’ll have everyone wrapped around your finger.”

With that Brook finished and both he and Nami were clapping for his lesson had been particularly good. If he could one day approach Sanji that way and have him crazy for him he would be so glad.

There was still something that Luffy didn’t get yet, so he asked, “But if you know that much about love, how come you are alone?”

He said that and Brook and Nami laughed a lot, but he didn’t get why since he was being serious about his question. The musician simply said that ladies didn’t like skeletons, but if he had his human body they would be all over him like when he was completely alive. He laughed at that and thanked him for his help.

As Luffy had thought before he would be putting into practice his new knowledge in the next island, but he would try in a more secure place. He asked Nami to come up with a good excuse to visit some bar and she had accepted so all he had to do was to wait until they reached firm land.

When they arrived to the island they got there at afternoon and after buying supplies Nami said she wanted to go to some bar since she desired to taste a special beer that was only there. Everyone accepted easily and were now waiting in line to get inside. They made Chopper stay behind in the Sunny because he was still a minor. He hadn’t wanted to and protested that his birthday had passed so he was already eighteen and that they just were being mean. They didn’t listen to him and went to the bar with the doctor crying in the ship. Luffy didn’t feel too bad about it since Chopper was still young and would have tons of other chances to party and instead he had only few options for his plan to work.

The bar was really pretty as he noticed when they came inside. It was made mostly of wood and Robin said it was rustic. It had lights of all types of colors and they moved throughout the whole place. It almost made him dizzy, but it was a very thrilling sight. He wished he could dance here with Sanji and the thought made his heart skip a beat as always.

They sat down at a big table and read the menu for the beers, but there was no special one as Nami had claimed. She pretended she had gotten it wrong so they continued there waiting for their drinks to arrive. Not long passed before their orders came and he tasted a little of his beer, but it was because he wanted to wet his mouth since he was feeling rather nervous.

Luffy knew he had to put his plan into action soon so he stood up while the whole crew gave him puzzled looks. He shrugged and started looking for possible candidates for his idea. He saw a table with some dudes staring at him, but he wasn’t sure if they wanted to talk with him or just fight against him. He decided the only way to find out was to approach them and sat down next to them.

They gave him weird looks and asked immediately what Straw hat wanted with them. He said with a smile that he only wished to talk and have a good time. He said it in a way that he thought was enticing and by the looks the other guys gave him he knew he had accomplished it.

They began talking and they were surprisingly very funny. Luffy asked them what exactly they were doing at the bar and they said that they lived at that town and worked in a construction crew and that in the nights they liked to come to drink sometimes. He had smiled and they had asked him what it was like to escape from the Marines or fight against pirates. He had explained that and he had told them all about his adventures with his companions.

They listened to everything Luffy said with interest and he knew he was doing this greatly. He had their attention and they laughed about every little thing he said. He was being as flirtatious as he could be and it was paying off for they stared at him way too much for people that weren’t into him. He asked for new rounds of beer for him and they almost fought over who was going to buy it for him so he knew he had them on the palm of his hand. It was a fun and new sensation, but he would prefer Sanji’s attention over these dudes’ any day so he just enjoyed the situation while it lasted.

They had brought many beers for him, but he knew he needed a clear mind for his plan so he didn’t drink too much. He also needed to know if his idea was working so he looked many times to see if Sanji was staring at him completely mad about him being with some other men, but every time he saw him he was talking happily with the crew. It seemed he didn’t even care if he was there and that made him feel really sad, but he knew that he had to work this in his favor and so he wouldn’t stop: he had to play his cards right.

He thought a good idea would be to dance so he asked the guys who wanted to do it. They all stood up and Luffy smiled feeling a little guilty that he was just playing with them. He chose one guy that had been particularly interested in his stories and that was also the prettiest. He needed to make Sanji jealous and for that he needed someone good looking. When he pointed at the man (he had forgotten his name) the rest sat down defeated and they went to a space in the middle of the bar where couples were dancing.

The music was upbeat, so nothing too compromising was going to happen between them. The man whose name he just didn’t know at this point tried to get closer to him and he didn’t let him because the music just didn’t allow it. He looked over his shoulder to see if Sanji was watching him, but he was still talking with the crew.

Luckily for him the music was changed and something a lot more sensual started sounding through the speakers. He let the other finally get closer to him and the guy held him by the hips as they moved. This time he looked at Sanji again and he saw how the cook was watching him with his mouth hanging open.

Luffy had won this round; he just knew it.

***

After the initial shock everyone had suffered from seeing Luffy dancing that way, Sanji had only one moment of sanity. It lasted for about three seconds and everything that came after that was him seeing red. He heard as the crew talked and talked about how amazing it was Luffy had that hidden under his sleeve. They spoke to him, but he really wasn’t listening to anyone. He only heard the laughs some of the guys had because he was being too obvious, being jealous like that.

Sanji kept drinking from his beer with, as the crew liked to call it, a pout and a deep frown. He just couldn’t help but be mad. Luffy kept giving him furtive looks and it was so evident he was enjoying seeing him in that state. He was clearly dancing that way because of him, but his treacherous mind changed that thought to something more on the lines of “he was dancing way for him”. That made his heart beat fast and the more he looked the more he wanted to be in that stupid guy’s place.

Luffy danced in a way that gave him chills. The form his hips moved to the music’s rhythm and how every limb was doing something to match the beats was indescribable and unparalleled. Not many people knew how to do that, but he guessed he was really good at it. There was also how he responded immediately to what his partner was doing. If the guy made it so they would sway slowly or rapidly he would follow instantly without thinking it twice. His skin was glowing with sweat, but that was to be expected since the bar was a closed space. It didn’t make it any less captivating though. However, two things were driving Sanji crazy: one, the other man’s hands on Luffy’s hips holding him close; and two, Luffy’s heavy stare on him, as if inviting him to trade places with that guy.

His rational mind was telling him not to fall and keep put right where he was; if Luffy wanted to dance that much he could do it. The other part that wasn’t thinking straight anymore was screaming at him to go and kick that guy away from his captain so it could be him that had him that close, so it could be him that got to witness in first person Luffy moving that way. Another part was actually defeated and thought bitterly that even if he went to dance or stayed seated he still had lost for it was undeniable the effect the man had on him. Everyone had noticed by now and he would have to be the best liar in the world for anyone to believe that he wasn’t feeling anything.

So, he didn’t know what to do. Sanji could stay where he was, almost breaking the glass of beer he held for his grip was too strong and keep listening to the whole crew teasing him endlessly for his obvious jealousy or he could go and dance with Luffy. Both options were difficult because the first one was driving him crazy, but the second would be admitting utter defeat. Sanji knew Luffy had won this, but he still had pride so to just go and start dancing with him didn’t feel good.

Sanji just didn’t want to accept that he had feelings for his stupid captain. It was too complicated and even annoying. He knew Luffy wasn’t someone to be messed with so beginning something exclusive was what they would be doing if he were to stand up to dance with him. He didn’t want that. For how much that Sanji desired to be with his captain that didn’t mean he only wanted to be with him from that point on. He liked to be surrounded by women and, while Luffy clearly wasn’t one, his efforts had created the possibility of being interested in him. That still didn’t change the fact that he really wanted to continue a life where women were an option, but with his captain thinking he liked him, which at this point he probably did, he felt he wouldn’t be free and able to approach as many ladies as he wished.

It was also true that he had had a lot of doubts about what Luffy would do when he had stated a week ago that he would make him go crazy with jealousy. Sanji hadn’t believed him capable of such a thing and with every failed attempt he was sure it wasn’t going to work. Nevertheless, he found his tries endearing and almost cute. To even think that had been mortifying, but his mind wouldn’t let him think of it any other way so he began slowly accepting to himself that there were chances he did see Luffy as something else, though he wouldn’t say it to anyone or reveal it.

That was what Sanji had thought, but with things as they were now it was impossible to continue that way. Everyone already knew or intuited that he had feelings for Luffy so there was no need for him to hide it anyway. But as he had said before that didn’t change how he viewed this whole thing and how he thought of it to be hard. It just held too much compromise and a responsibility he didn’t know if he wanted to have.

So, Sanji decided to continue drinking under the strong looks directed his way. He tried to talk with the crew again, but all they did was ask him if he was okay with Luffy dancing with that dude. He had responded with ease that he was fine even when he clearly wasn’t, but he could try and feign ignorance. After some time Luffy would have to stop for there was no party that lasted forever and his plan would be forgotten as there would never be a better chance of getting him jealous than at this bar.

He insisted on speaking to the crew as if nothing was going on and Luffy was not giving him seducing looks. They tried to advise him many times that all he had to do was dance with Luffy because that was what he wanted, but he didn’t listen and kept trying to chitchat. It was starting to work as some of the guys were actually listening to him. Franky asked him why he didn’t want to dance with some other woman so Luffy would stop doing that out of curiosity. He didn’t have an answer for that, but deep down he knew that if he went to some woman and she rejected him he would go flying to the captain’s arms.

He was starting to forget about Luffy dancing and his eyes betrayed him a lot less with time so he didn’t look at him from the corner of his eye anymore. He didn’t know how much time passed, but when he was certainly distracted Nami told him to do something and quick. He looked at her not understanding what she meant, but all she did was point a finger to where Luffy was dancing.

The captain was dangerously close to the other man. Sanji knew that stance well enough for he had lived them a lot of times. The lady (in this case Luffy) getting away a little to tease the other person into believing that they wouldn’t be kissing, but that with a little more push it would definitely happen.

Sanji didn’t know what to do. While he didn’t want to dance with Luffy it was actually for the consequences it could lead them, but that didn’t mean he didn’t like him or was willing to see him hooking up with someone else. It was worse that it was some unknown dude at that. He could accept a guy they had met before, but Luffy knew about this man about an hour prior to this. He couldn’t deny that he was handsome though, but he was better than that.

He remained seated where he was without a course of action to follow while the crew told him desperately to man up and go retrieve Luffy. He was in a state of panic and not knowing if to fight or flee. He saw as Luffy gave him one last look as if daring him to come get him, but he wasn’t responding. Then the captain seemed to just give up on him and was leaning in to kiss the other man.

He didn’t know what possessed him, but before he knew it he got there and stopped them. He put a hand in the man’s chest, halting him from moving. The guy looked at him with obvious angriness at being stopped and asked what the hell he wanted and if he didn’t see that they were in the middle of something. He only narrowed his eyes, but the man kept on talking.

He wasn’t having any of that though, so he told him in a menacing way, “Shut up, I’m talking with my captain here.”

It seemed the man noticed that he was dangerous and ran off back to the table where his friends were. Luffy being the little shit that he was bid him farewell and thanked him for the dance. The captain was really unbelievable sometimes. He had this innocent look that differed a lot to the one he was sending his way not long before.

He wanted for Luffy to start giving him explications for his behavior, but that was the same as telling him that he was jealous. So, they stood there looking at each other not saying anything. After some time passed he shook his head and was about to go back to where the others were when Luffy spoke up.

“Do you want to dance with me, Sanji?” He asked and his voice was so inviting it was going to drive him crazy.

Sanji turned around and stared at him. Luffy looked great if he was honest. It was like he was ready to dance again and for much longer if he wanted. He took a deep breath to calm his beating heart. It was too tempting to just dance with him like that, but he knew that if he accepted it would be the same as selling his soul to the devil. He would have to start something with Luffy which he didn’t want to and the thing that he couldn’t read on the captain’s eyes assured him of that.

For that reason he shook his head again and started to go back to the crew, but Luffy stopped him again. This time he asked why he had come if he wasn’t going to do anything. Sanji didn’t know about that either. As he had thought before Luffy was only going to lose his time with him, but for different causes. While at first he hadn’t wanted to be with Luffy because he didn’t like him, now he didn’t because he couldn’t see himself giving up to his rights as a single.

As he didn’t have an actual response that wasn’t something along the lines of “I don’t want to be with you, but I also don’t want you with anyone else”, he stayed quiet and began making his way back to their table. He didn’t even walk three steps and was turned around by Luffy. The captain looked really angry, but he knew it was his fault. He should have let him be with that guy. Maybe that way he could have forgotten about him and if he had to taste many lips before he did, he shouldn’t have opposed. It wasn’t his place and it would only confuse him, but he was too weak for that. He hoped that the next time he would be a better man.

“Why did you come here if you aren’t going to dance with me? You’re so jealous it’s obvious you want to be with me. What’s stopping you?” Luffy asked and between his anger there was also a lot of pain.

Sanji felt like trash seeing Luffy in that state so he concluded he had to be clear. “I don’t know why I came. I think I would prefer it if you were with someone else, not with an unknown dude that may take advantage of you.”

He said that, but the way he had looked at him the whole time Luffy was dancing spoke volumes about his real reasons and how this wasn’t one of them.

Luffy looked completely unconvinced and seemed to get even more annoyed. “Do you think I’m that stupid? You think I didn’t see you staring at me the whole time while I danced? The guys at the crew were staring too, but no one was pleading with their eyes to be with me.”

Did he really look like that? Why had no one stopped him from staring so much? He felt a blush creep up his face. Did Luffy seriously have to word it that way? Didn’t he have more tact? He almost sounded like a pervert and of course if Luffy saw him acting like that it was obvious he would get mixed signals. Well, they mostly weren’t mixed as if he was honest he really did want to dance with Luffy, but the captain wouldn’t understand that.

“I don’t get what you’re saying, Luffy. Let’s not make this more complicated and let’s go sit at the table to drink with the rest,” he said and started to walk again in the direction he had come.

He wasn’t expecting Luffy to follow him, but weird as it was the captain actually went ahead faster than him. He got to their table sooner and by everyone’s looks he was mad as a bull. He saw as Luffy took the whole crew’s jars and glasses filled with alcohol and drank from them at once. Everyone screamed at him to stop, but it was too late and the captain had really drunk all of it. It seemed the alcohol burned his throat and he kept quiet for a while, but not long passed before he started smiling in a way only a drunkard would and everyone looked at him as if blaming him for what happened.

Sanji knew he hadn’t been the best person out there confusing the guy and all, but he didn’t put a gun to Luffy’s head so he would drink all that. Still, since he wasn’t that much of an ass he went to Luffy’s side to check his state anyway. The captain smiled and wasn’t saying anything. After some time he said that his mouth felt as if burning and he supposed that was due to the alcohol. He asked the crew what they were drinking because the weakest the liquor the fastest he would get back to normal.

Most of them said beer, but to his surprise Brook had stated with a worried voice that he had been drinking vodka and Zoro said rum. Those were hard liquors so he didn’t know how long it would take for Luffy to sober up.

He wanted to go back to the Sunny soon so Luffy wouldn’t do anything strange, but before he even got to say that he saw how he threw himself in his arms. He wasn’t heavy, but he wasn’t expecting that so he almost lost balance and fell. Thankfully they didn’t and he kept them steady. Without warning Luffy started professing his love for him as he did when drunk and who was he kidding? He really didn’t want any of this, so he pushed Luffy away from him with care. He handed him to Zoro that was close to them.

Both looked really unhappy about that and Luffy stopped saying how much he liked him and instead he started to say that he was unbelievable as he didn’t have the guts to like him back and be with him. It became a ruckus with Luffy being generally loud and the crew trying to silence him. Sanji knew that Luffy wasn’t in his best shape, but he insisted on that so much that he was getting really angry. He told Luffy that it was best if he found someone else and the guy seemed to get what he was trying so he responded that he would.

Luffy separated from Zoro and was about to go to the dance floor again, but was stopped by the crew. Since he was in that state he wasn’t thinking too much so he got really mad and ranted again about his endless cowardice. Sanji didn’t think he was a coward about this as he seriously preferred to be with women than only with Luffy thus the words annoyed him a lot.

Seemingly perceiving that the situation was getting out of hand Zoro held Luffy and told the crew that they would be leaving first to the Sunny so the captain could cool his head a little. Nami said that he would get lost and that it would be bothersome to search for them so she sent Usopp with them. The rest remained with him trying to recover from the dispute. It was so weird seeing Luffy that way and to think that it was because of him. He didn’t think he was cruel or bad for rejecting him, but he didn’t do well in going to interfere with his conquer. It had been in the spurt of the moment and now he was paying for it.

Sanji needed to get out of his system everything so he asked for a new round of beers for the crew. He drank gladly hoping to forget about Luffy, but it was impossible. He kept ordering more rounds for the crew, but they didn’t want to drink anymore and told him to stop. He wanted to continue drinking so he went straight to the counter and imbibed more alcohol by himself.

He had this strange idea where he thought if he drank and drank Luffy would disappear from his mind. It wasn’t like that and with every sip from his glass and the burning sensation the whiskey left on his throat the more he remembered his dance. The way his hips moved, how his eyes always found him and invited him to follow him, how his skin glowed, everything was too much. At that point he didn’t even remember that he had been dancing with a stranger, Sanji only had eyes for Luffy.

He didn’t know how much time had passed, but he saw Nami approaching him to go to the Sunny already. Sanji had shaken his head many times and told her that he still didn’t want to see the captain. They had all tried to get him off the bar, but he wasn’t budging so at the end he stayed there drinking. The crew wished him good luck and he smiled.

He had tried to dance with a lot of women, but they rejected him in the spot. He wasn’t sure if it was because they had witnessed the scandal that Luffy had provoked or because he was really drunk at that point. He had kept drinking without restriction for a long time and without him even noticing he was kicked out of the bar. It was like his memory had been cut and the story wasn’t linear anymore. Somehow he had appeared buying more beer in a street he couldn’t recognize.

Some drunks were beside him asking him for money, but he kicked them out of his way. Sanji noticed that he not only had beers, but that he had even rum and some sake. He knew that alcohol cost money, but he wasn’t sure how much he carried with him. He could have checked, but he was feeling so out of control that he didn’t have the concentration enough to count money. He wasn’t stupid like Zoro, but at least he could say he knew how to handle alcohol better than him.

Sanji kept walking in the direction he saw the ocean to find the Sunny, but he was really lost. It was like his personality had been exchanged with Zoro’s and that couldn’t be right. He still felt the effects of every drink he had that night, but he knew this would be something he would recall tomorrow.

He was having those lucid moments drunks had sporadically because he had had too much booze that night so he knew it would take time for him to be really in control. One thing he was sure of was that he wouldn’t be drinking more that night and that he would wake up with the worst headache ever.

As he kept thinking how to get to the Sunny he didn’t notice that he was going in the wrong direction and ended far away from the sea. It was almost funny how he commanded his body to go to the ocean, but instead it moved in its own and led him elsewhere. It was so funny he wanted to cry, but he wasn’t going to do that so he tried to go back in the same way he had.

Sanji was sure he definitely wasn’t following the same path and somehow he was in a dead end. When he turned around he saw a lump in the ground that was apparently crying. He knew that voice well enough so he got close to the man on the floor. He called him and the guy turned around sobbing. Since he really wasn’t thinking about anything he did the worst mistake ever and opened a bottle of beer to hand it to the man.

That was his last somewhat clear memory from that night and everything that befell later Sanji just didn’t know about.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sanji continues to be kind of annoying so I once again apologize in his behalf! He will be nice again I promise!  
> Also stay tuned for the next chapter because it's really eventful!  
> (I said the same for my other fic in case any of you are reading both, but somehow the interesting chapters connected lol)  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy and Sanji provoke too many disasters together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here's the new chapter!  
> It's kind of short compared to others but it's really eventful!  
> Hope you guys like it!

4.

Luffy felt the cold water hit his face and it instantly woke him up. He opened his eyes at once and he didn’t know where he was. One thing he did know was that his head had almost exploded after opening his eyes. The light was too strong for it to be normal. This level of pain was only caused by alcohol so he must have been drunk (again).

When his eyes focused properly he saw Nami yelling at him, but he couldn’t understand a word she was saying. Instead all her screaming did was to make his head hurt more. He put a hand to the air so she would keep quiet for a while. After she did he began looking around his surroundings. Luffy was in an unknown street in a dead end. He looked to his right side and Sanji was sleeping next to him. That was weird. Was he drunk too?

He asked Nami what the hell was going on, but she said she wanted to know the same. He inquired her why she had used water and why she had chosen to wake him first. She only responded that she had tried hitting him but it hadn’t worked and that she had decided to wake him first because she thought he deserved it more.

Luffy didn’t want to fight against her with that headache so he didn’t say anything. He turned around a little and saw that there was way too much booze for only two people. He shook Sanji so he would wake up and after a lot of time and a punch from Nami he woke up. Sanji was just as lost as he was and it seemed his head hurt in the same way as his.

The cook asked them what was going on and where he was, but he said that he didn’t have any idea. Nami told them that they had been missing and that she would explain later what they knew. She ushered them so they would stand up and when they did with a lot of effort a paper fell from Luffy’s lap. Luffy was about to leave it behind, but his intuition told him to read what it was about. When he did his mouth touched the ground and his eyes were out of his sockets. He almost wanted to throw up.

Nami noticed his state and took the paper away from him. When she read it she had the same reaction as him and passed out as he got back to normal. Sanji went to her side and held her while he asked him what had happened, but he told him that he needed to see this for himself. The crew that was a little behind also noticed the navigator’s reaction and went to aid her. When Sanji was sure she was in good hands he picked the paper from Nami’s hands. He had a similar reaction to Luffy’s, but instead of going back to normal he stood there dumbfounded for a long while.

The white paper wasn’t any type of paper as it was actually a certificate. It was a certification for their wedding that had happened recently. He didn’t even know the exact date or for how long they had been missing, but he knew that this had transpired not long ago. The paper apart from the date had their names as husbands and it even had their signatures. The document was from the town they were in and it looked legit enough so he was freaking out.

Luffy felt himself shaking and he stared at his hands and saw a ring in his finger, more specifically in his ring finger. This was really happening, but he couldn’t accept it. It had to be a dream so he punched himself strongly in the face, but nothing happened and he was sure he really had married Sanji while drunk. He really did want to marry him, but not in such a way with both not remembering anything.

When Nami regained consciousness the crew started to ask what was going, but he really didn’t know how to respond so he stayed quiet for some time until Nami spoke up.

“They got married. They disappeared and now they are married,” she said and everyone was shocked and in the same state Sanji still was.

They regained composure faster than Sanji and started asking what they had done. He said he didn’t remember anything and instead inquired how they had disappeared. The crew responded that it was all Zoro and Usopp’s fault. Both looked surprised that they were blaming them and protested, but Nami shut them up. Then she explained what had happened.

“Zoro was going with Usopp to the Sunny so you could rest, but Usopp wanted to pee and of course Zoro instead of waiting like a normal person got lost. Since he was with you he managed to lose you too and that’s all we know from your end. Usopp then found Zoro alone and they went to the Sunny thinking you could have gone there. You weren’t there and they panicked, but stayed there until we arrived.”

She continued her story and said, “About Sanji he was in a really bad mood and drank a lot. We tried to get him to go with us to the Sunny, but he refused and stayed back at the bar. We thought he would be fine as he normally doesn’t cause these kinds of troubles, but I guess we were wrong. How you both found each other is something we really don’t know.”

Luffy asked how it was possible that they hadn’t been able to find them before everything and Nami responded angrily the answer.

“We really did try to find you. We searched the whole city, but it’s really big. We asked everywhere for both of you and some people said they saw you together going around town with no clear destination. Today an old lady said she saw you in this neighborhood and we went around looking for you. You can’t blame us about what happened so don’t you dare say something like that.”

She warned him and he knew that better than anyone, but he felt too confused and almost angry at his stupidity. He had wanted to marry Sanji for so long he had lost count of time, but this wasn’t the way and it only proved how dumb he really was.

Sanji wasn’t reacting so Robin went and threw him water in the face. Finally the cook reacted and he was in the verge of tears as he pulled his blond hair and asked repeatedly why and how. Nami said annoyed that she had already explained and wouldn’t be doing it again. That it was Luffy’s responsibility as his husband and the man practically passed out. He held him, but Sanji pushed him away.

After panicking Sanji said that they needed to investigate about what they did when they had been missing and ask for a divorce. Deep down the idea of being married to Sanji was specially alluring and tempting, but he knew that they hadn’t been in their right minds when accepting that so he nodded and started making his way to walk around the town to gather information.

He was stopped by Nami that told them that first they needed to go to the Sunny to shower because they stunk. The whole crew made signs showing their repulse so he guessed they really did smell.

In the way to the Sunny Sanji went far away from him and by his demeanor it was evident he was really mad. Nevertheless, Luffy didn’t feel particularly guilty about this since both were at fault. He didn’t know how or when they found each other, but the two of them had decided to get married. He was indeed mad at himself for being stupid and drinking that much, but he hadn’t been the only one drunk that night so he couldn’t be blamed for it alone.

Nami had taken the certificate from Sanji and read the whole thing to check if it was legitimate. It had the town’s coats of arms, but it didn’t say anything about from which church it was given to them. It also had their names printed on it and their signatures. She asked them if those were indeed their signs and he nodded that he recognized that as his. Sanji did the same and Nami said that it looked like the real deal. Luffy felt a heavy weight in his shoulders as the whole crew walked towards the Sunny.

When they arrived at the Sunny, Chopper, that apparently had stayed there waiting for them, came to see them. He started asking what had happened and Zoro said that Sanji and he got married while drunk. The doctor paled not understanding and was quiet for some time until he began laughing as if he had gone crazy. The rest did the same and for much that Sanji tried to stop them they didn’t.

They apologized between their laughs, but they insisted in that it was too funny that they had gone and ended up married. Luffy wanted to laugh too since it was indeed rather comic that they had done that. It was almost ridiculous that they had come up with that idea. They could have done so many other things and yet they decided to get married. He contained his amusement though, as he knew that Sanji would get angrier than he already was.

After everyone had calmed down they went to shower. When they were ready Luffy asked Chopper for a cure for his headache as he really wasn’t feeling too good and he needed to be strong to walk around the whole town. The doctor gave Sanji and him a pill and injected them some serum so they could rehydrate. After that both felt a lot better.

They had to start the investigation about what had happened and how to later divorce. He wished they could marry again later some time with both knowing what they were doing. For now they needed to find out a lot of things as decided by the crew: where and when they had gotten married, from where they had bought their rings and if they could give them back, how they could get a divorce, where they had been the whole night they got lost and that morning, where all the money to marry came from and how any priest would have married them in the state they were.

About the money to pay for a wedding both had checked their pockets to see if there was anything, but not even a little penny appeared. Luffy never carried money around because Nami was in charge of it and Sanji did have savings, but now he didn’t have anything. He almost cried while looking all over his clothes, but nothing was there. That either meant Sanji paid for everything and was now broke or, they got the money from somewhere else and spent all of it.

Once Sanji and he were ready they began their search for answers. The whole crew decided to go with them as to not let them do anything stupid again. Chopper was in charge of the Sunny again much to his chagrin. As they made their way into town Robin seemed to ponder about something and suddenly asked who came up with the idea of getting married in the first place. He shrugged and Sanji did the same. He couldn’t remember anything after he got wasted that night at the bar.

Nami informed that a whole day had passed since they got lost and that from the date in the certificate they had married yesterday, but the exact hour was still unclear. It also meant that apart from the night they got lost and that morning they would have to investigate about their activities for one whole day. That was incredibly tiring, but now it was past noon and they were going to the church that was close to the neighborhood they had been found. They had decided to start there and then ask about the rest of the things they had done.

Since the city was actually very big they took their time to get to the church and when they got inside they asked a lady to speak with the priest. She led them to a room where the man was and Sanji upon seeing him almost threw himself to kick him, but he was held by Franky and Jinbei. They calmed him down while they priest was scared of Sanji and didn’t know what they wanted. Robin explained that they wished to know if he had married him with Sanji.

The man seemed surprised, but nodded anyway. He asked if there was something troubling them and Sanji answered with fury.

“Yes, we want to know how you could marry us when we were obviously drunk!” He inquired with rage.

“Well, you had paid me already and you insisted _a lot_ about it. I tried to kick you out, but you came up way too many times and I decided why not at the end. From what I see it seems you aren’t too happy with it now,” the priest said as if this wasn’t his problem to fix.

“And you call yourself a priest? You only care about money and you knew how we were, but you just went and married us,” Sanji reproached the man.

“It’s not like I only care about money, but you had already paid me. It would have been bad from my part to not marry you. I mean you had your rings ready and all. You even said you had your honeymoon prepared.” The priest tried to reason with Sanji, but he wasn’t listening.

Sanji almost passed out from the impression and he had to admit that he wasn’t feeling his best either. Where did they even get those rings and the money to do all that? As stated before Nami had his savings so he never carried any cash with him. Sanji didn’t have any money so that could mean he paid for them and the wedding or they stole the rings.

He didn’t know what else to ask as he was way too confused so Robin and Nami took turns asking the priest.

“I know this may be troublesome, but can you answer to some questions we have?” Robin asked and the man nodded. She continued. “At what hour did you marry my friends? Do you know a place they could have gotten those rings?”

“They came at five o’ clock and paid for a marriage, but since I didn’t know if they were sure about this I decided to do it anyway half an hour later. I opened the church and no one came with them, but the ceremony was really pretty anyway,” the priest said with a small smile and he saw how Sanji wanted to kill him.

The cook had regained his composure and said, “How can you even suggest that it was a pretty ceremony? We were drunk for fucks sake!” He was really mad at this point and Franky was holding him so he wouldn’t throw himself at the man again.

“Well, that’s true, but you kept saying how much you loved each other and it seemed pretty real to me. When you put the rings on you kissed and it looked like you really meant it,” the man said shrugging.

Sanji almost passed out again. For his part Luffy was blushing and he couldn’t believe he didn’t have any memory of his first kiss with Sanji. From the man’s words it seemed the kiss had been real and he wanted to cry. He had so much bad luck.

Franky sat Sanji in a chair so he wouldn’t do anything weird and Nami started questioning again.

“You haven’t told us where they could have gotten those rings. Do you know of a place that sells them?” She said trying to continue with the conversation.

The priest seemed to think about it, but concluded with ease, “There are many places, but close to this church there is only one jewelry store. It must be the “All Gold” one. They aren’t cheap though, so I don’t know how you could have bought them.”

At least they had some information already, but they still needed to know about more things. So, Robin continued asking.

“Do you have any idea of where they went to after getting married?” She inquired and the man seemed to think about it.

“I remember they said something about going to some bar close to here to celebrate, but I wouldn’t really know. The most concurred bar in this neighborhood is called “The devil’s cave” so I guess they could have gone there.” The priest informed and he supposed they could go there later after getting rid of their rings.

The man asked them if they needed something else because he needed to count some money and Sanji stood up from the chair rapidly and inquired the most important question.

“How can we get divorced?” He asked with desperation lacing every word and he didn’t like the way he said it. They hadn’t done anything really as a couple for him to hate this so much anyway.

“Right now you can’t because the documents are currently being sent to the World Government’s registers and before they aren’t written down in their documents there’s nothing I can do,” the priest said and he paled.

If he was that way then what could be expected for Sanji? He tried to convince the man anyway. “I can pay you really well if you divorce us right now. Please?”

Sanji was reaching the pleading tone and he got why, but he didn’t think they had been that terrible for him to be that way, right?

The priest shook his head and said, “That’s really tempting, but if you had approached me yesterday or in the morning I could have ripped the certificate. I already sent the forms so they’ll be processed by someone some time later. Think in the positive way though: you’ll get money for the wedding after the documents are registered.”

Sanji was almost crying and insisted on the divorce so the man said defeated, “Okay, I guess you’ll really divorce. You’ll have to wait at least two weeks to ask for a divorce. It can be done in any other church so you don’t have to wait in this town. The only thing you have to do is fill some papers, sign them and wait at least a month for it to be official.”

That seemed to calm Sanji a little and he felt relieved as well. With that they left the church and the priest alone to continue with their investigation. They would be going to the jewelry store first since it was probable the bar was still closed.

They went in the directions the priest had said before they left and when they entered the place they saw a fat old man behind a counter that contained many rings and necklaces. They looked really expensive so he really didn’t know where they had gotten money to pay for their rings and Sanji said that he certainly didn’t have enough savings to pay for something like that.

When the man saw them he scowled and picked a staff to kick them out of his shop. They weren’t going to leave as they weren’t intimidated by the old man at all. From what Luffy could gather of his reaction it was obvious they had been there. He was worried they might have stolen from him. He didn’t care too much about stealing as he was a pirate, but he did prefer to do it from bad guys and not just simple workers.

Luffy asked right away if he had sold them the rings. He showed his to the man and the man shook his head. He needed to know if they had stolen from him so he questioned the seller.

“Did we steal from you these rings? If so we are going to give them back to you,” he said trying to reassure the man that they weren’t the worst type of people out there.

The man shook his head again, sighed and stated, “No, you didn’t steal them, but according to my wife you might as well did.”

Luffy was confused so he inquired again what he meant by that. The man responded, “You came asking for wedding rings and I gave you the price. You didn’t have any money, but you said you would give me some treasure when you found it. Of course I didn’t believe you, but you insisted a lot and that blond guy said he would give me the All Blue if I accepted so I was stupid enough and decided to give you some rings anyways”

The man explained that to them while they all laughed and Sanji blushed so much he thought he would explode. He wanted to give the rings back, but the man said that they couldn’t.

“It’s useless now. They have your names and the date of the wedding. I wish my wife was there when I decided to give you those rings. She got so mad after I told her, but I’m so stupid that I thought you would give me something since you’re a big shot pirate.”

He couldn’t believe what the man was saying so he took out his ring and saw that his name was next to Sanji’s and the date for yesterday was also written down. Zoro took the ring, read their names and started laughing unstoppably. Sanji tried to take out the ring from his finger, but it seemed it was stuck. He tried to take it out many times and with each attempt he was closer to begin crying. At the end he gave up.

He asked again the man if there was something he could do with the rings or to somehow repair them, but the man said that there was nothing he could do since the machine to erase the inscription would damage the rings and they were really expensive. He told them he wanted them out of his store because seeing their faces reminded him of his wife’s anger so they could take the rings as his personal gift.

They left the place and they went in the direction of the bar hoping it was already open since it was well into the afternoon. Something that Robin had pointed out was that it was strange that they had money to pay for the marriage but didn’t have to get the rings since they already had them when they got married. She said that even if the rings cost a lot more than a wedding, the man had stated that they hadn’t had any money so she concluded that Sanji was actually broke way before going to purchase the rings. Of course Sanji was almost crying again.

Seeing that they didn’t have any explication for that they began thinking for possible sources of money and Nami came to the conclusion that banks lent money or they could have gotten it from loan sharks. Both options were really probable, but to catch wind of a loan shark in specific would take time so they decided to go to a bank in that part of the town. They would have to go later to the bar since the bank could be closed already.

They got to a bank that was big and when they entered they were received like robbers, which with all things considered they probably were. The workers took out weapons he didn’t know where from and pointed them at the whole crew. Of course they weren’t worried about simple arms, but Luffy really did want to know what had provoked the reaction.

He told them to put the guns down because they didn’t mean any threat. A man said that it was hard to believe in his words given all the trouble he had caused with the blond. Ah, again them and their strange activities. Seriously, how much had they screwed everyone’s lives yesterday?

He asked what exactly it was they had done because he couldn’t remember. The man that had spoken before answered without putting down his weapon.

“You said you wanted a loan and since everyone knows you’re a pirate of course we weren’t going to give you anything, but you claimed that you would give us a lot of treasures if we gave you the money. We really weren’t going to, but the blond said he would give us the All Blue and we thought to hell with it and accepted to give you the cash. It was a lot of money, but when you were supposed to sign for the loan you escaped with the money without signing for it, so in better words you stole from us. We hunted you down the whole town, but you disappeared.”

The man explained and he was really surprised. How many times had Sanji said about giving the All Blue to someone else? He looked over to the cook and he was covering his eyes with his hands and was clearly distressed over the whole thing. He was too, but he knew they had to fix this somehow.

He kept thinking of ways to settle this, but got none. Luffy looked over at Nami that was staring intently at him. He understood (weird as that was) what she was trying to tell him and shouted a loud “run” and they escaped again from the bank while the workers fired their guns at them.

They ran a lot to get away from there, but at least they knew where the money came from and had a general idea of their moves from yesterday. Somehow they had encountered each other in the night or in the morning. They had decided after meeting to marry and had gone to buy rings. After that without any money they went to get a loan. They literally robbed the bank and with that money paid the priest to marry them. Following what the priest had said it seemed they had gone to celebrate at a bar, but everything after that was still a mystery.

According to Franky it was impossible they had spent the entire money on paying the wedding so that meant they wasted it in something else. On what exactly it was still unresolved and he really didn’t know what they could have done with it.

With that information and having the picture clearer they went to the bar in hopes of finding out about their movements after the actual wedding. When they arrived to the biggest bar in that part of town they went inside since it was already open for the public.

In the same fashion that the workers of the bank reacted, the bartenders and even the costumers gave them wary looks. He sighed. What had they done here? Luffy knew he was especially good to create problems and sometimes with luck fix them, but this was getting ridiculous. It was like he had gone out yesterday with the sole intention of messing with people and strange as it was his partner in crime had been Sanji.

He approached a bartender and asked her what they had done last night. The woman didn’t seem too happy to see them there at all, but after a while responded.

“You came here kinda early saying you wanted to party to celebrate your wedding. You invited everyone that was in the bar to have some rounds of beer for free. Everyone was really happy for that.” Luffy looked at her not getting the problem, but she added quickly, “Everything was fine at that point until you started to dance. I have never seen something as atrocious as that. You fell over so many tables that they broke along with the costumers’ glasses, so of course everyone got mad and a brawl started. You kicked and punched everyone and then left. We had to take care of everything and at the end you didn’t even pay.”

He looked over at Sanji that was freaking out while the crew laughed at the image of them dancing and provoking a disaster. Luffy wanted to laugh too, but the bartender seemed really mad so he knew he had to be serious and asked her at what hour they left. She said that they were gone before eleven o’ clock and then demanded the money back. Since they seriously didn’t have any, he screamed at everyone to run again and they left the place behind. He felt rather guilty, but he was actually a pirate so that much was expected of him anyway.

Something that seemed to not add up was where they spent all that money and what did they do after leaving the place. For much that he tried to think and remember anything about last night he just couldn’t. The whole crew decided to rest at some coffee shop to eat something and think of their moves.

They started to think about what they could have done after destroying that bar and that could have led them to wake up drunk in that alley. Zoro said that it was obvious they had probably spent all of it in booze since they were drunk in the morning and the alcohol’s effect couldn’t last that long. That or they had stolen again. Then he seemed to think something and said that it was weird that they had been drunk when they found each other because they only drank in the other night. Sanji recalled something and said that he had bought booze that night so he guessed they being drunk yesterday was on him.

Usopp said with a laugh that it was his fault then that they had married, but Sanji kicked him in the shin to shut him up. He was of the same idea since all he did was drink, but then he recalled that no one had actually forced him to do it so he kept quiet.

The sniper protested at being kicked and said that he hadn’t wanted to say this, but since Sanji was being a brute with him he would do it anyway.

“What do you think newlyweds do after getting married? You celebrated and then what else did you have to do?” Usopp said while rubbing his shin, but with a mischievous smile.

Luffy wasn’t getting anything from that, but after seeing Sanji blush he understood. He felt his cheeks get hot too. He thought he would remember something like that. Also they woke up in a dead end. There was no way in hell they would do something like that there, right?

Of course the whole crew laughed while he was so embarrassed about this. Sanji was looking mortified as he knew he would. There had to be a better explanation for that so he kept trying to recall anything that could discard that possibility. It wasn’t that Luffy was grossed out by the idea, but it was really different if both were drunk. Also they had been passed out in an alley so it was awful to think about that.

While he was busy thinking he noticed that some beggars were approaching them. They looked mad and he just knew they had done something to them last night. Luffy didn’t need to be intelligent to know that.

When they were close enough they began protesting about something they had done, but he couldn’t understand them. They started again in a calmer way.

“Think you’re a big shot just ’cause you’re a pirate and lying to us like that. Never been betrayed like that. You were our bro, but now you aren’t more than a dirty dog,” one of the beggars said and he was incredibly confused.

Luffy also didn’t like being called a dog or betrayer so he asked what he meant by that.

The man responded with a frown, “It’s obvious you would forget all about it since you drank all that booze by yourself. Promised you would give us half of it, but then disappeared with the whole thing.”

He understood now what they were saying, but it was kind of stupid to be angry about something like that. However, he thought if someone did the same but instead it was with meat he would be mad too. There was one thing he still needed to know.

“Did we buy the alcohol or stole it?” He asked the man because he wanted to know where in hell that money was.

“No, you actually paid for it. You were really wasted and didn’t want to stand in the line for the liquor store. You saw us poor people and said you would give us half of your booze if we stood there instead. We bought it for you, but that blond told you to go drink somewhere else and you ran away and didn’t give us anything.” He stopped and looked at Sanji directly. “If your friend is a dog then you’re a treacherous rat.”

With that he finished and left them alone. Everyone was laughing except for Sanji and him. He really did want to laugh, but he knew that if Sanji saw him laughing he would get three times madder.

The mystery behind where the money had disappeared to was solved, but something was still missing: why did they end in that alley? They decided that the best way to gather information was to go to the streets near the dead end so they went there.

The place of the alley was populated by houses and there weren’t many stores. It was still relatively close to every place they had been the whole day and it was also near a liquor store. They supposed that was where all their money had gone to, but preferred not to ask if they bought it there.

It was starting to get late, but some people were still outside their houses so they asked them two questions: if they had seen these two guys and if they had heard a ruckus last night. Most people said that they did hear some drunkards making a scandal in the streets and they were clearly celebrating something, but that they didn’t see anything. Nevertheless, one person recognized them and said that they were incredibly drunk last night, but since they knew they were pirates they didn’t want to meddle in their business.

With that he felt they were closer to the truth behind everything so they kept asking people if they had seen them. There weren’t too many people outside, but when they got to a house in the middle of the street an old woman that was sweeping stopped them.

“You back again with your noise? I thought that after yesterday you would have learned already.” The woman gave them a menacing look and he didn’t understand what was going on at all.

As he was lost he asked the woman right away, “I’m sorry granny, but what did we do? Something bad?”

He didn’t want to know they had mistreated an old lady so he was worried that might have been the case.

The woman instead said, “Don’t call me granny, you shrimp. You were shouting so loudly and singing and breaking bottles of beer everywhere that I had to go and kick your asses. You and the blond ended surrendering and I put you in some alley so you wouldn’t annoy me anymore. After that you slept like babies. Youth these days…”

The old woman shook her head and continued sweeping as if nothing had happened. Luffy heard as the whole crew laughed about them being beaten by an old lady. It was probable they had been so wasted that they hadn’t been able to fight properly, but to think a granny beat them was too much. He hoped no one would find out.

After that they left the woman alone and started making their way back to the Sunny since all the mysteries were solved already. The only thing they didn’t know about was who had been the one to suggest to get married. As both didn’t remember anything it was highly probable they would never know.

Another thing that had been thankfully clarified was that he hadn’t done anything with Sanji other than kissing. Thinking back about everything that happened they just didn’t have time for it and by the people’s stories it seemed it wasn’t on their minds either. He hadn’t wanted to point that out, but Franky just went and said that exact thing and he and Sanji blushed a lot while the crew laughed about it. Luffy loved them, but they could be annoying when they wanted.

Chopper was waiting in the deck for them to arrive so when he saw them he went to ask how everything had gone. He didn’t want to talk about it so Usopp offered to be the one to tell him with detail everything that happened. He didn’t care who did it anyway so he went to rest on the deck.

He was so tired and he didn’t know what he would do with Sanji anymore. The divorce was at least two weeks away and he wasn’t sure how he would behave with him. He knew he liked him a lot, but to be married was different and he had desired for this to happen for such a long time. It was incredible how his wishes had been fulfilled, but this definitely wasn’t how he wanted them to be true.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here something important!  
> I don't think I'll post a new chapter for this fic and the other one the next week, but only now I'm remembering so sorry for that.  
> Thanks for reading!


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